Metro East Sun

A settlement agreement on a revolving loan from Macoupin County to former South County News owner Dave Ambrose suggests that the county worked with Ambrose to illegally promote a 2014 referendum to increase the sales tax, a government oversight group alleged recently.

According to information gained after a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on the loan settlement from the Edgar County Watchdogs (ECW), the Macoupin County state’s attorney sent Ambrose a letter in September 2015 demanding full repayment of the loan, just over $6,100. Ambrose proposed settling the debt for $3,000 for reasons related to the county’s management of the loan and its payment terms.

Ambrose also pointed out that he had produced and published ads and a brochure in favor of the 2014 referendum on behalf of the county board. In his letter proposing the settlement, Ambrose noted that he was told the board could not legally pay him for the work because it could not take a political position on the upcoming election, yet he carried out the work anyway.

The ECW said the county accepted the settlement and forgave part of the debt, which it said still still amounts to compensation for work that the board should not have been able to expense.