I’ve noticed this is a problem in my area, too.
The polls have closed, the votes have been counted and the newly elected are preparing to take office.
Win or lose, there is a legacy the candidates in this year’s election have left behind for voters: Signs, lots of them.
Just as the November election altered the political landscape, the yard signs and banners generated by the campaign season have left a mark on the physical landscape.
Hundreds of campaign signs still litter the region, the flotsam of competitive races for governor, U.S. senator and state auditor, as well as a handful of expensive ballot initiatives.
While some candidates are scrambling to collect them, others, apparently, are in no rush. Politicians who had no opponents in November — and some not even on the ballot this month — still have signs around the St. Louis area.
“Most of the time, the groups that put the signs up, they think their job is done when the election is over,” said Dave Tomek, planning manager for St. Charles city.
Who is the worst offender in your area? Maybe a little public shaming would help clean up the old signs.
*** UPDATE *** Topinka’s campaign has been tossing out their signs.
Tuesday, a dumpster appeared in front of the Republican campaign headquarters in downtown Springfield and by evening it was filled with Topinka campaign signs and other Republican wares.
*** UPDATE 2 *** The New York Times had a story about signs this week.
Election Day has come and gone, and now comes the true test for candidates: how well they clean up after themselves. With a bumper crop of more than 20 million campaign signs this election season, the race has begun.
“Only shallow candidates have lots of volunteers ready to put the signs out but not enough volunteers ready to take them down,†said Steve Grubbs, a former Iowa legislator and founder of VictoryStore.com, which sold more than five million yard and roadway signs this year, double the number from 2004. “It’s a lot of signs to deal with, but they’re slackers if they can’t get them down within a week of the election.â€
For some, that is too long to wait.
In the last year, county and local officials in at least nine states have imposed new restrictions on where political signs can go and how long they can be left out
- QueenB - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 9:52 am:
Giannoulias signs are still littering areas of southern DuPage.
- Walking Wounded - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 9:58 am:
Sorry to say, but Ernie Russel signs are still all over the Peoria area. Wish he would have won, but there’s no reason his supporters couldn’t take the signs down after the election.
- kdruben - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 10:00 am:
David McSweeney signs seem to be littering the Lake Zurich area still.
- John Lee Pettimore - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 10:05 am:
Rumor has it that Tony Peraica asked that his signs stay up until the next election.
- Snark - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 10:22 am:
This is such a ridiculous non-issue so the press can do more candidate bashing. Signs aren’t allowed on public property, only on private property. The people who haven’t taken the sign off their lawn are the same people that still have their Christmas lights up on Valentine’s Day.
And just about every statewide candidate office, and probably most local ones, have either a full dumpster outside or the guys at 1-800-got-junk walking through. It’s time to close and vacate offices.
- Bacchus - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 10:50 am:
Yeah, Topinka’s campaign might be tossing out signs, but there are hundreds all over Central Illinois still in public right of ways. Furthermore, many cities and Townships have ordinances that will allow folks to keep those signs up for 30-90 days after the election, so that would be more of a local issue or non-issue.
- Frank - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 10:54 am:
Going up/down I-55 to/from Springfield there is one exit that has Oberweis signs… 2 on each side of the road. as you are driving up I-55 they are up on the right side of the overpass the same goes when you are going down I-55. I forget which exit it is but it isn’t too far from Springfield
- Cal Skinner - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 11:01 am:
The only signs I see in McHenry County are Melissa Bean’s.
- sign here - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 12:01 pm:
Sam Cahnman needs to clean up his signs
- Crockett - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 1:03 pm:
Stu Umholtz signs are still everywhere!
- Captain America - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 1:09 pm:
I read the article in the New York Times and definitely approve of the expectations that candidates clean up after themselves.
I collect all the signs around my polling place, Republican and Democratic, between 6:30 and 6:45 PM every election day to do my bit to clean-up and dispose of them.(I have to be inside the polling place by 7:00.)
I have not been paying any attention, but i’ll keep my eyes open and report any egergious offenders that I notice.
- Arthur Andersen - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 1:16 pm:
Crockett, stop that. You are lowering the value of my rare, collectible, new condition Umholtz sign.
I plan to sell it some day on Ebay to pay for my health insurance in the event Cassandra is ever elected to high office.
- Angie - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 1:45 pm:
Make Kjellander pick up any remaining JBT signs. Apparently, the Illinois GOP now wants him out (just read it somewhere over on the right, one of the headline stories that is posted).
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 2:00 pm:
I’d like to get me one of those Umholtz signs.
- Gregor - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 2:12 pm:
The state law should be that any signs on PUBLIC property still up a week later can be turned in for a cash bounty charged to the originating campaign fund or candidate. Pull up to the dump, get a dated receipt, present it to Board of Elections or submit it with your tax forms.
That picture depresses me; the dumpster represents our hopes for a solvent state, for responsible stewardship, and for an honest and ethically-run administration for the next 4 years (or less.) it also represents the negative campaigning garbage that Blago’s campaign used to drown Topinka, to smother the electorate. The corresponding dumpsters at Blago Command probably would be full of money in one, and shredded evidence files in the other.
- Roomie - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 2:22 pm:
Topinkas signs are all over the right of ways which I believe were illegal to begin with.
PICK THEM UP.
There are still Topinka signs with VOTE TODAY on them. Seriously. Its pure laziness.
Its not hard.
- Roomie - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 2:24 pm:
It looks like all those signs are from the office (i.e. signs that were never put up).
- Lovie's Leather - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 2:31 pm:
Well… in the workshop Dad still has his Bob Michel for Congress sign hanging on the wall…. I told him to take it down……. but that was only so I could steal it…. Also I think there is a Bob Churchill for SOS sign hanging around in there… he can keep that one….
- Bill - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 2:44 pm:
Sorry,AA, but there is a glut of umholtz signs lining the major highways in DuPage and Northwest Cook. They are still pretty new looking and are usually accompanied by a bunch of Peraica and Topinka signs. I guess Tony’s workers didn’t realize that they had crossed the county line.
- Frank Booth - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 2:47 pm:
Hey Rich, there were some Umholtz signs in the GOP dumpster. All you gotta do is dive right in.
- Conservative Republican - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 3:37 pm:
I think the classic in this department was related to a wall-side painted sign.
“Mike Howlett” and “Tom Tully” (Cook County Assessor) had signs for them painted about 12 stories up on the southern wall of an old building on State Street, north of Randolph in Chicago. Until the Art Institute demolished the building in the late 1990’s to build a building that now houses their students and the downtown Border’s Book store, those signs, which were originally painted in 1974, I believe, remained distinctly visible from the Daley Center to Marshall Fields for over twenty years, long after Howlett died and Tully retired from politics. I don’t think anyone can beat that record. I always thought of it as a constant reminder of the everlasting life of the Machine.
- Craig - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 4:18 pm:
We have a ridiculous amount of Zinga signs in the QC area. Here campaign littered major roadways with them for election day. Why she spent time putting up signs in Rock Island County is beyond me, but her capiagn should be held responsible for taking them down.
The sickest part was she lined the road next to a Muslim place of worship, this is terrible considering her views on racial profiling.
- Arthur Andersen - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 5:05 pm:
Rich, you host the blogger party, you get the sign.
Especially in light of Bill’s post, I’m thinking my “Burris for Illinois” campaign sign is probably more valuable over the long run.
Over in Champaign-Urbana, I saw a ton of orange and blue “Frerichs/Jakobsson” signs still standing. Meanwhile, the Undertaker is spinning in his grave.
- Effingham County - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 5:34 pm:
Topinka signs still litter the areas approaching many of the polling places…most of them are on public right of way.
- NIEVA - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 5:39 pm:
I work for IDOT and we were instructed to pick them up on state property on monday,which we did.
- Mike Williams - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 6:08 pm:
Conserv. Republican:
No, the Art Institute did not demolish the building that had the Howlett/Tully signs. They constructed their new building/dorm in front of the old building containing the signs so they are no longer visable.
Frankly, I think this whole thing is ridiculous. I kind of enjoy seeing old political stickers/signs around from years back. They contain a bit of history in them.
SAVE THE SIGNS!
- Little Egypt - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 6:34 pm:
Several elections ago, I woke up the morning after and saw absolutely NO political signs of any kind in Springfield. Not one - nadda. While driving to work I turned my radio to WMAY and they had a bounty out on all political signs and would pay $.25 per sign to anyone bringing signs to their radio station. Now that was a great post-election day. Too bad more people don’t do that.
- JakeCP - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 6:51 pm:
I helped out at that headquarters. All of those signs probably came from inside the headquarters because when I volunteered there her signs were posted all along the walls.It makes me sad to see them thrown away oh well. I hop Topinka will be alright.
- the wonderboy - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 7:45 pm:
Topinka actually had signs left over? Wonder why I never got one for my yard even though I asked 6 weeks before election day…that’s just funny.
Worst offender? I know that the Green Party candidates left their signs up all around Illinois State for the first week…of course most of them were on public property, so I guess if you are going to break the rules once you might as well be consistent and break them again.
- MacUnderground - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 8:41 pm:
All right sore winners, get off the Topinka signs in the right-of-way bandwagon. Signs in the right of ways, I think that started during the State Fair with the Blago folks who refused to remove them. After all under the Blago administration a law, to quote their illustrious leader “That is a law L-A-W” is nothing more than a legality that is meant to be ignored and/or broken.
- Michelle Flaherty - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 9:08 pm:
So when are the campaigns signs over the tollway coming down?
- Lovie's Leather - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 9:17 pm:
Can anyone down Springfield way tell me if Jeff Isbell is still driving around with the gigantic Oberweis sign in the back of his truck… because it wouldn’t suprise me one bit….
- In the Sticks - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 10:41 pm:
we have a Phelan for something or other sign in our garage. can’t be too many of those left. (was it Lt gov?)
- C IL S@ home - Thursday, Nov 16, 06 @ 10:45 pm:
On public property in Champaign still county board dist. 6 (Fabri) signs and green party signs. There are plenty Frerichs-Jakobsson signs on private property, few on public property. They need to charge these lazy campaigns. When I worked for Brady in the spring we made the effort to take down our signs from polling places in Champaign in a few days after the election. Removed all signs from our church that was a polling place.
- JJ - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 12:37 am:
I’m leaving Topinka sign in my yard until the city makes me take it down … merely in protest of the Blago dictatorship. Just have to come up with a different anti-Blago sign to leave in my yard year round & somehow comply with city’s sign ordinance.
- T.J. - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 12:49 am:
The Umholtz campaign made signs?
The Frerichs campaign put up a bunch of signs after the election.
- anon - Friday, Nov 17, 06 @ 6:06 pm:
While there were many more Blagojevich signs posted in Kane County; now, all I see are Topinka signs littering the roadways. I agree with another… this is pure laziness. It’s funny, they were not lazy about removing signs prior to Nov 7th.
- Angie (to Michelle) - Saturday, Nov 18, 06 @ 2:01 pm:
Re: “So when are the campaigns signs over the tollway coming down?”
Are you kidding? He might run yet again. As someone rightly pointed out in the past (I think Buck Flagojevich), Rod has to be in permanent campaign mode. Public office in Illinois is the only place he’ll survive.
Throw Rod into the private sector? (laughing hysterically)
But really, against AG Madigan, why did anyone even bother to run against her? (chuckle)
To get a nice ride on the fancy bus tour? Poor Stu.
- Randy Alesia - Sunday, Nov 19, 06 @ 9:24 am:
I am A Tollway Maintenence worker,And hot Rods signs are all over are aera also.We were instructed on Wednesday am to pick up any remaining signs that were never picked up.Most of them were For Blago,a couple Peraica signs also.Looks like mr Madlener needs some work to do.To bad Maddog.Now you will become unemployed like everyone else that worked for Tony.I told you guys to look out and be carefull.Now you are jobless
- anon - Sunday, Nov 19, 06 @ 3:34 pm:
Like the photo, Rich. Thanks.
- Bobby Douglas - Monday, Nov 27, 06 @ 12:21 am:
That is to freakin funny