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Ald. Moreno's Signs Reminding Dog Owners to Pick up Poop Illegal: City

By Alisa Hauser | January 23, 2015 4:04pm | Updated on January 26, 2015 7:30am
 Signs reminding dog owners to pick up waste that also include Ald. Moreno's name are illegal, the city says.
Signs reminding dog owners to pick up waste that also include Ald. Moreno's name are illegal, the city says.
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DNAinfo/Josh McGhee

WICKER PARK — Signs placed under trees and on sidewalks reminding dog owners to clean up after their pooches have upset one candidate running against Ald. Joe Moreno (1st).

"It is clearly not meant for dog poop; it's an advertisement" said Ronda Locke, who is one of three candidates hoping to upset Moreno in next month's election.

The signs, which are about 2-feet-wide by 1-foot-tall, say "Please pick up after your pet" and include a logo for "Proco Joe Moreno, 1st Ward Alderman."

On Friday, Jerry Mandujano, an assistant in Moreno's office, 2058 N. Western Ave., said that the signs, which were unveiled about eight months ago, were paid for out of Moreno's own pocket and "have been very popular."

Alisa Hauser explains why the signs are illegal:

The signs are given away for free and were placed by residents, not by Moreno or his staffers, Mandujano added.

Mandujano was unable to say how many signs were printed or how many are currently posted in the ward, though Locke estimated that there are at least 30 or 40 signs throughout West Town and Wicker Park.

Locke wrote an impassioned letter to the City's Streets and Sanitation Commissioner last Friday with photos of the signs, arguing that the signs are a violation of the city's public way ordinance.

"Considering the size of the logo I feel that this is intended to build name awareness and less about dog waste and do not believe these should be in the public way, " Locke wrote.

Locke said she was prompted to complain about the signs after receiving a letter sent to political candidates earlier this month that reminded folks to keep promotional signs off of sidewalks, trees and street poles.

"As Alderman I will follow the letter of the law and not put our campaign materials on city property. Many of these [Moreno] signs have been up since October, even before general elections," Locke said.

Molly Poppe, a spokeswoman for the city's Streets and Sanitation Department, said they are "educating candidates on the law'" by sending out letters.

"We are reminding candidates that signs, regardless of content, whether political or non political, are a violation of the ordinance," Poppe said. 

Fines for illegal signs on the public way range between $200 and $500 per offense, according to the City.

George Barrera, a policy analyst with the city's Streets and Sanitation Dept., told DNAinfo Chicago that he has instructed city workers to remove Moreno's dog waste signs.

Barrera said the city is getting requests to remove signs "from all over the place."

"There are people putting signs up for businesses and elections. In light of all of this, we have reminded every single person of the ordinance," Barrera said.

Reached on Friday, Anne Shaw, another candidate running against Moreno, said she does not see a difference between what she called "the Moreno poop signs" and the illegal garbage cans emblazoned with Moreno's face that appeared during the 1st Ward committeeman race two years ago.

Shaw, who lost to Moreno in the committeeman election, was referring to unauthorized garbage cans bearing Moreno's face, which were removed from the public way and prompted an investigation by the City's Inspector General Faisal Khan.

"Moreno doesn't believe the laws apply to him," Shaw said.

Mandujano said that Moreno encourages residents to put the dog waste reminder signs on their private property, not on city sidewalks or trees.

"It is up to the constituents to place [the signs] where they see fit," Mandujano said

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