Each weekend a Waukegan code enforcement officer collects scores of signs illegally posted on the city’s parkways, light poles and trees. In most cases they are destroyed.
Building Commissioner George Sellas, who oversees the city’s code enforcement among his duties, said some of the time he is able to contact the sign owner but more often than not they cannot be reached. One inspector is on weekend duty.
“Our inspectors pick up these signs every weekend, especially on the parkway,” Sellas said. “In March we’ve had about 130 so far. It used to be as many as 200 or 300 but it’s less now since we started enforcing it last year.”
Assorted businesses post multiple signs along parkways each weekend on well-traveled streets in Waukegan offering to buy homes, install gutters or windows and even provide haircuts at an individual’s home.
Temporary portable signs cannot be posted on the parkways in front of any property as well as on lampposts or trees, according to city law. Sellas said the parkway is city property extending anywhere from the curb to 10 or 20 feet or even further onto a lot.
Should one of those signs appear on private land beyond the parkway, Sellas said the property owner is free to remove and destroy it. They have no obligation to contact the individual who placed it there.
On the weekend of March 15 and 16, Sellas said 35 signs were collected reading “We Buy Bad Houses” listing a phone number of 224-505-2664. Multiple calls were made to the number Friday. No individual answered. There was the same recorded message.
“We are currently on the line with another homeowner,” the recorded voice said. “If you are interested in selling your home please leave your name your name and your number as well as the address of the property and we will get back to you.”
Those 35 signs were destroyed by the city. Sellas said city officials are continually unable to reach company personnel to contact the business or businesses which place the signs on the city’s parkways.
“They have a new phone number every time,” Sellas said. “It’s all cold calling. They come to you so they don’t need a place of business.”
Though people who place signs on parkways violate city law and could receive a citation akin to a parking ticket and pay a fine, Sellas said much of the time all the city can do is destroy the signs.
When Sellas came across a sign offering haircuts at home, he called the number and reached the barber. There was no need for a citation — a warning often comes first for code violations. A phone call provided behavior modification.
“I told him to stop it and he said he would,” Sellas said.
Since the city began removing the signs last year, Sellas said the number placed in the parkways and other illegal locations has shrunk. The average before enforcement was 200 to 300 a month.
One exception to sign destruction is political signs advertising an individual’s candidacy or suggesting how to vote on a referendum which are placed on the parkway rather than on the homeowner’s property.
“We hold them and call the candidate,” Sellas said. “We explain the rules and tell them not to do it again. We let them come and get the sign.”
