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Question of the day

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* We occasionally do this question after elections, so let’s try it again…

Now that the primary election is over, political candidates are embarking on a new battle: to remove the thousands of campaign signs from the frozen ground.
They’ve been at it for about a week, trying their best to expeditiously remove the colorful signs from yards, corners and other highly visible locations.

“It’s a matter of wanting to do the right thing and prevent visual clutter,” former 92nd District candidate Allen Mayer said of his hundreds of signs. “The weather has not been very cooperative, both in terms of it snowing and being so bitterly cold. It was hard to get them in (the ground) and I’m sure will be equally as hard to get them out.”

* Question: Which candidates still have yard signs up in your area? Are there any particularly egregious examples?

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 10:31 am

Comments

I still see Halvorson and Ron Paul signs everywhere.

Comment by Squideshi Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 10:36 am
County Baord candidates in DuPage have signs all along Roosevelt Road… i got a feeling some will be there till spring. Most are the losing candidates endored by Schillerstrom. Judges too have a lot on Route 83.

The best are the Ron Paul signs that are still up on North Avenue in DuPage. Most of them look homemade, spray painted letters on a piece of plywood.

Comment by pickles!! Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 10:38 am
Ron Paul is by far the worst offender.

Comment by taxmandan Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 10:45 am
Yes, the primary is over and Ron Paul signs are still out there, but remember - Ron Paul hasn’t dropped out of the race yet, his supporters still have hope that their signage will be used this Fall, and that their support will be seen by the Mother Ship from Planet 321A so not to vaporize them when Paul gives up and is beamed back to his home planet.

Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 10:49 am
Berni Stone believes his signs are part of a ward beautification program. Their longevity in public view is greater than his own.

Comment by Rod sez I'm pork Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 10:50 am
Willie Delgado and Cynthia Soto. Everywhere! Got to remind everyone who’s in charge.

Comment by clj Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 10:55 am
Judge Wexstten have signs in the ROW around Highland. What’s amusing is that the “judge” signs from the last election had finally just disintegrated.

Comment by Highland Online Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 10:55 am
Marilyn Johnson for judge and creepy Jay Paul Deratany. those signs are all over the place.

Comment by Amy Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 10:56 am
Ron Paul are the only ones left

Comment by downstateyp Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 10:57 am
Ron Paul is by far the worst offender along Roosevelt Road in DuPage County. I was pretty sure that the snow plows would hammer them into oblivion, but they remain battered but unbowed.

And since the election I’ve seen more Morgenthaler signs than I did before — They might just be conspicuous now due to the absence of other signs.

– SCAM

Comment by so-called "Austin Mayor" Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 10:59 am
Ron Paul signs hands down.

Comment by Ghost Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 11:04 am
Ron Paul’s are the worst. And like those Christmas Lights down the street from me, I don’t expect that they’ll actively be taken down as much as deteriorate or be forcibly removed.

Comment by Learning the Ropes Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 11:10 am
Ron Paul. His handful of supporters used public right of ways mostly and expect IDOT to clean up after them.

Comment by Wile Coyote Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 11:12 am
Idiots, Ron Paul is prepping for 2012! He is the frontrunner

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 11:14 am
Ron “Freakin” Paul

Comment by Dan S, a Voter Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 11:15 am
Schock!

Comment by Mr. Dreamey Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 11:17 am
Joe Berrios, they are everywhere.

Comment by Feldman Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 11:18 am
Ron Paul by a long shot.

We were able to get down all the signs that supported the candidates I was working with (not Ron Paul - mind you) except for the fence posts that held up the 4×4 signs. Ground is too #%&&^% frozen to take them out. They’ll be there for a few more weeks. But, the signs themselves are down.

Obwerweis signs are still up, but there is the special election in a few weeks, so those are supposed to be there.

Comment by Trafficmatt Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 11:28 am
Ron Paul’s signs are still up all over the Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park area.

I think they’re multiplying!

Comment by Anonish Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 11:38 am
Rich Bradley and Iris Martinez are everywhere. Rich’s are gigantic also, a few judges here and there.

Comment by babs Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 11:39 am
Ron Paul’s have finally been removed in my area (it took a while. Also, I think he had more signs than voters).

Chadra still has some stuff hanging around. I saw his people putting stuff up, but I have yet to see them taking it down. If those people want to participate in the process now, they need to start by cleaning up their trash from the neighborhood.

For what its worth — Election day a year ago I made sure that a lot of Brendan Reilly stuff was up. The day after, I made sure it all got taken down. That is what a campaign should do.

Comment by Skeeter Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 11:42 am
there’s been a stanley kusper for cook county board president bumper sticker on a lightpole by my house since the ‘90 primary.

Comment by cool hand Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 11:45 am
In 49 - Suffredin, Steans and Fagus litter nearly every freaking block.

Comment by The 'Broken Heart' of Rogers Park Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 11:57 am
Blagojevich - They are all over up and down the tollways!

Comment by A Citizen Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 12:28 pm
Ron Paul with John Laesch running a close second here in Aurora. Both are waiting for all the votes to be counted in their respective primaries.

Comment by Stuck with Sen. CPA Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 12:34 pm
Heather Steans and Jay Paul Deratany.

Comment by Undercover Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 12:56 pm
Confession: I left a few up in my precinct to help with name recognition for a candidate new to the area.

I’ll take them down by the weekend, I promise.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 12:59 pm
Ah, permit me to take this opportunity to recall the all time win-nah: the “Michael J. Howlett for Governor” sign painted on the side of a Loop building. Musta been there for over twenty years.

Comment by Dooley Dudright Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 1:02 pm
Ron Paul. There’s a huge sign right off LaGrange Road in the Orland Park area.

As far as local neighborhoods, not many to be seen around where I live.

Comment by Kiyoshi Martinez Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 1:26 pm
John Laesch (he still thinks he’s going to win)

Comment by BlueGirl Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 1:33 pm
oak park: Ron Paul, Tom Allen.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 1:56 pm
Dan Brady still had a few 4×4’s up around here … and he didn’t even have an opponent in the primary.

Comment by YNM Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 2:17 pm
Joe Berrios has big signs fastened to school fences and sign posts (in other words, public property!) that are still up.

Comment by Don't Worry, Be Happy Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 2:56 pm
Berwyn,

Ron Paul stickers on stop light posts, Ron Paul signs on streetlamp posts… It would appear that the Ron Paul folks didn’t understand the actual rules regarding political signage.

Comment by cermak_rd Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 3:24 pm
I live in the town of North Chicago, and my state rep. is Eddie Washington, a liberal Democrat. He had two primary opponents, and he won. I still see his yard signs at almost every major intersection in North Chicago.

Comment by PhilCollins Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 3:42 pm
I usually help set up yard signs for candidates in my area. This year we got them in just as the ground was freezing up. Getting to them over mounds of plowed snow and then finding them frozen into the ground was no treat.

Move the primaries to May. I still have snow in my boots!

Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 4:01 pm
Brian Hott for Macon County Cicuit Clerk.
He ran a horrible campaign to replace his retiring mother.

Comment by blagoman Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 4:41 pm
What about the Topinka signs on I-72?

Comment by Anon Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 6:51 pm
Eugene Moore, Ed Smith, Nuby and Obama (combination signs) are all over the west side of Chicago.

Comment by Chris W. Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 7:41 pm
Q. C. area–Paul Rumler has removed his ultra expensive 4×8 signs but has a tremendous amount of small signs remaining. If legislators were smart they would pass legislation barring these signs and declare them for what they are,VISUAL POLLUTION!

Comment by care less Thursday, Feb 14, 08 @ 9:35 pm
Yard signs are only supposed to be on private property. And that should solve the post-election blight problem because each property owner just disposes of the sign after the election.

The trouble is the illegal placing of political signs on public ways, and the failure of local governments–particularly the City of Chicago–to take them down when they’re put up illegally.

You can always tell which candidates City Hall is backing by the proliferation of illegal signs on public intersections and parkways, and the failure of Streets and San to take them down.

Meanwhile, the ward committeeman’s thugs always make sure the insurgent’s signs come down–whether they’re on private property or not.

Comment by Chicago Guy Friday, Feb 15, 08 @ 8:31 am