<div><strong>OCTOBER 2025 UPDATE</strong>
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<div>The legal effort to <strong>STOP the solar farm at Mt. Hope Cemetery</strong> marches on! 
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<li>With time running out, one of our committee members filed a lawsuit last week against the City of Belleville and the Developers with 10 counts contesting the legality of the project. (The city and developers previously announced they hoped to start construction in October.) 
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<li>Link to article with all the lawsuit details: <a href="https://www.bnd.com/news/local/community/belleville/article312262657.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://www.bnd.com/news/local/community/belleville/article312262657.html" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.bnd.com/news/local/community/belleville/article312262657.html</a></a> 
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<li>In a major victory for our effort, we retained <strong>Penni Livingston</strong> to represent the case! Many of you may already be familiar with Penni, but for those who aren’t, she has practiced law for over 30 years in the Metro East and is known for being one of the top Environmental lawyers in Southern Illinois. We are THRILLED to have her on board!
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<li>Penni’s professional support greatly boosts our effort to stop the solar farm. However, it also increases our costs. Please consider donating to our effort today to help cover Penni’s legal fees. 
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<div><strong>Next steps: The court hearing is scheduled for October 24th (although this is subject to change– we will keep this page updated). </strong>
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<div><strong>Thank you for your support!</strong>
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<div>August 20, 2025
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<div>Dear Friends and Neighbors,
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<div>As you may have seen over the past several months, attention around the Mount Hope Cemetery Solar Farm has continued to grow. While the City of Belleville has remained resolute in pushing this project forward, more and more questions have arisen about its legality and the city’s actions in approving it.
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<div>After months of research and careful work, we believe we have built a strong legal case to challenge the project. Now we need your help to cover the legal fees. The City has announced they hope to begin construction as soon as October—so the time to act is now.
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<div>This fight is about more than one project. It’s about protecting the dignity of Mount Hope Cemetery, standing up for transparency in local government, and ensuring our community has a say in decisions that impact our neighborhoods and history.
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<div>We promise to keep everyone informed about how funds are used, and if there are any leftover funds, 100% will be placed in trust for the benefit of Mount Hope Cemetery.
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<div><strong>Please consider donating today to help us stop this project and protect our community. Every contribution makes a difference.</strong>
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<div>Thank you,
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<div>Save Mount Hope Committee
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<div>Sign our Save Mount Hope Cemetery <a href="https://www.change.org/p/save-mount-hope-cemetery" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">petition</a>!
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Anonymous

Support Legal Fight to Save Mount Hope Cemetery

Still $7,315 to go. Help us build momentum.