Mystery text blast about South Beloit Fire Service prompts denial from City

A controversial, anonymous text message sent to residents this week has reignited the debate over the future of the South Beloit Fire Department, drawing a sharp rebuke from City Hall and raising constitutional questions from legal experts.

The mass text, sent from an unidentified group, urged residents to "Reply YES" to say they will call City Hall, alleging that the outsourcing of fire services to the Town of Beloit (Wisconsin) has put families at risk.

"Did you know that South Beloit outsourced our fire department to Wisconsin, and our families are paying the price," the message read. "Response times will suffer, and lives are at risk."

The Rockton-Roscoe News did not receive the text message, but did send a message to the number. As of print, no follow-up message has been received from the number.

The City of South Beloit responded swiftly, issuing a press release categorizing the text as "false and unauthorized." Officials later emphasized they were not claiming the sender had compromised the city’s official notification system. The message came from a private number not associated with municipal alerts.

"The claims made in the anonymous text message are baseless, misleading, and appear designed to cause unnecessary alarm and fear in the community," the city stated.

The statement continues, “The City is actively investigating the source of the text message.… The City will pursue all appropriate actions once the sender is identified” and encouraged residents to “report suspicious mass messages to City Hall or the South Beloit Police Department.”

Are response times fast enough?

Mayor Tom Fitzgerald defended the current arrangement with the Town of Beloit, stating that the department "consistently delivers fast, professional emergency response." The City further noted that they are investigating the source of the message and will "pursue all appropriate actions" once the sender is identified.

While the city’s press release stated that "no such concerns regarding the Fire Department’s emergency response capabilities have been reported, documented, or presented to City officials," this claim has prompted confusion and skepticism from some residents.

According to community records, a local concerned citizens group has held at least four Town Hall meetings specifically to address staffing and safety issues. Mayor Fitzgerald attended one such meeting in October 2024 at the South Beloit Businessman’s Hall, and Council member Prentice attended another on January 25, 2024. Additionally, staffing concerns have been raised during open comment periods at City Council meetings. Council member Courtney Prentice spoke at the early February City council meeting in 2024 about his attendance at the townhall meeting and shared his thoughts on conducting a fire study, which was recently concluded in the fall 2025.

When our reporter asked for clarification about the press release in the light of these public meetings, the city indicated it was "unsure of what was being asked."

Jack Redieske, former firefighter and one of the leaders of the South Beloit concerned citizens group, maintains that concerns have been brought to the Mayor Fitzgerald for over a year and no one from the group of the sender of the text message. He also raises some questions.

"Speaking for my self, nobody from the concerned citizens group sent the text but everything is correct in the text.
What legal issues, isn't there a such thing as freedom of speech?
Do you think South Beloit is safe with having only 2 personnel in the station the biggest portion of the time with no engine/fire response?
Nothing against the guys and gals working at South Beloit but do you think they can put out a house fire with a fire extinguisher? 
SECONDS count when dealing with medical and fire calls.
Many people have brought these concerns to the council/mayor over the past year or so FOIA the response times from the time of the call comes into dispatch to the time the unit arrives on scene.
To this day in my opinion the safety of the residents and people driving through South Beloit are in danger due to lack of staffing."

Joshua Loyd, a South Beloit mayoral candidate, found nothing false in the text message statement and finds the response time portion of the city's press release to raise doubt. "What part of this is false? [What] does the city mean unauthorized mass text? Unless they know it came from one of their employees they don't authorize citizen texts," said Loyd in a post on Facebook.

"They [the city] also stated they meet all national standards but they can't meet a 4-minute engine response standard using an engine that is over 7 minutes away," said Loyd in an email.

When it came to no one raising concerns to the city council, Loyd called that "another blatant lie... Ilah Tinder and I for sure have brought up specific concerns and we haven't been able to FOIA request response times from the city because they say they [the city] were not in possession."

Is "pursue all appropriate actions" supposed to be a threat?

Despite the forceful language of the statement, City Attorney Roxanne Sosnowski denied that the City is threatening the sender. She told us, “There is no reference to legal or criminal action – just that the city was investigating the matter… If the sender is ever identified (and I seriously doubt that will occur) the appropriate action that the city would take would be to share with the sender the same information that has been shared publicly, many times at Council meetings, regarding current fire department response times,“ adding, "The City has no idea who sent the text and is not spending any time/money to try and ascertain who the sender is."

Legal experts warn that the city government would face high hurdles if it intended to punish the sender.

"Most cities have almost no legal basis to punish a resident for sending a political text - even if the message is exaggerated or misleading," said John E. Roach, a family law attorney and Legal Content Reviewer at LawDistrict. Roach noted that under the First Amendment, speech regarding public safety is considered "core political speech."

Edward Homes, an employment and civil rights lawyer with Hones Law PLLC, agreed, cautioning that investigations into political criticism often backfire.

"If the city were to pursue punitive action without clear evidence of maliciously false statements and demonstrable harm, it risks violating constitutional rights," Hones said. He added that if taxpayer funds were used to identify a critic, the city could face claims of retaliation.

In response to inquiries originally directed to City Administrator Sonya Hoppes and Mayor Fitzgerald, City Attorney Roxanne Sosnowski clarified the scope of the city's response.

Sosnowski confirmed that the phone number used to send the text (608-715-2106) was not part of the city system, meaning they weren’t claiming it had been used without authorization. Crucially, she stated that "city funds will not be used to identify the sender," addressing concerns about the use of public resources to track down political dissent.

What the disagreement is about

At the heart of the dispute is a factual disagreement: Are response times actually suffering?

The City maintains that the Fire Department "continues to meet or exceed national and regional response standards." To verify this, the Rockton-Roscoe News has submitted Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to multiple agencies to retrieve the actual dispatch and arrival logs.

The process has revealed a complex web of record-keeping between the two states. The Town of Beloit stated they do not retain records of the calls, pointing instead to Rock County Dispatch. Rock County has confirmed they hold records from October 2024 to present—when the Town of Beloit officially took over service—and will release them shortly.

Meanwhile, the City of South Beloit stated they do not possess the dispatch records and forwarded the request to the South Beloit Fire Department. A separate request has been filed with Winnebago County dispatch for data covering the period prior to the takeover (October 2023 to September 2024).

The Rockton-Roscoe News will publish a full analysis of the response time data once all records are made available

Original mass text blast

Did you know that South Beloit outsourced our fire department to Wisconsin, and our families are paying the price. Response times will suffer, and lives are at risk.We finally have a chance to bring our fire department back home and put local firefighters back on duty where they belong.Do not wait for a tragedy. Call City Hall and tell them to bring our fire department home and restore real local fire and EMS protection for South Beloit. Reply YES if you will call! Reply STOP to Opt-Out of L&O texts

Statement Regarding False Mass Text Message Sent to Residents South Beloit, Illinois — December3, 2025

The City of South Beloit is aware of a false and unauthorized mass text message distributed to members of the community earlier today. The message falsely claimed that residents’ lives were at risk due to alleged delays in the South Beloit Fire Department’s emergency response times and included a photo of the South Beloit Fire Department.

This message is entirely untrue.

At no time were South Beloit residents in danger, and no such concerns regarding the Fire Department’s emergency response capabilities have been reported, documented, or presented to City officials. The claims made in the anonymous text message are baseless, misleading, and appear designed to cause unnecessary alarm and fear in the community.

The South Beloit Fire Department continues to meet or exceed national and regional response standards.

Our local, dedicated firefighters and EMS personnel, contracted through the Town of Beloit, respond promptly, professionally, and effectively to every call for service. Ensuring the safety and well-being of our residents remains our highest priority.

The City is actively investigating the source of the text message. Disseminating false information to the public—particularly on matters involving safety—undermines public trust and creates unwarranted fear.

The City will pursue all appropriate actions once the sender is identified.

Residents are encouraged to:

• Disregard the false message and do not forward it.

• Rely on official City communication channels for accurate information, including:

o City of South Beloit website

o Official social media accounts

o Public safety press releases

• Report suspicious mass messages to City Hall or the South Beloit Police Department.

"The safety of our residents is our top priority, and the South Beloit Fire Department consistently delivers fast, professional emergency response,” said Mayor Tom Fitzgerald “The misinformation spread today is irresponsible, and we will take appropriate steps to ensure the public receives only accurate, verified information.”

For further information, please contact:

Sonya Hoppes, City of South Beloit – City Administration Phone: [608-481-3013]

Email: s.hoppes@southbeloit.org