SPRINGFIELD, IL — It is unclear who was responsible for providing water to attendees of an August 21 event featuring Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama, where an estimated 150 people were treated for heat-related illness, including 17 who required hospitalization, according to an August 26 article in the Journal Star.

Justin DeJong, spokesman for Obama for America in Illinois, said the Obama campaign worked with Downtown Springfield, Inc. (DSI) to provide water for the crowd. DSI volunteers sold water for $2 per cup at three locations near the plaza.

Springfield Mayor Tim Davlin said in the article that the city was not involved in any decisions about water supplies for the event.

Tim Ryerson, CEO of the Illinois Capital Area Chapter of the American Red Cross, said that the Obama campaign approached the Red Cross earlier in the week about supplying water for the event, but the organization declined because the organization was neutral and does not provide for political rallies, only disaster relief.

Event coordinators set up misting stations and water fountains and passed out free water for the crowd, but not until shortly before Obama took the stage at 2 p.m., according to the article.

Water bottles were not allowed into the event because bottles can be thrown, and security personnel have no way of knowing if the liquid inside the bottle is water or something potentially harmful, the article said.

Meanwhile, at the Democratic National Convention held in Denver this week, no water stations or toilets are available at the protest zone near the Pepsi Center, according to an August 28 report in The Denver Post. The Post reports that this is a possible violation of the terms of setup a federal judge relied on when approving the city’s security plans for the convention.