Downers Grove ordinance calls for removal of 75-year-old sign

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. (WLS) -- They say you can't fight city hall. And many times they're right. But a Downers Grove businessman is fighting mad about a sign ordinance that could cost him lots of money.

The Leibundguth Moving and Storage Company has been in Downers Grove for a very long time. The company has always advertised with signs in the front of their building, and a big sign in the rear along the Metra railroad tracks.

"The history of the sign goes back to when the Leibundguths started the moving and storage business back in 1928," Bob Peterson said. "And the sign went up within ten years after that."

So the sign has been here at least 75 years. But that doesn't matter, according to Downers Grove city officials, and the sign must go.

"Now the village wants me to paint over it. Get rid of it," he said.

There's nothing around the building that the sign could bother: no homes and no other businesses. There's just the railroad track, which is what could cost Bob Peterson lots of money.

Every day about 12,000 commuters travel by the store. That's about three million a year who see the sign, which means a lot in revenue to Peterson.

"Anywhere from between $40,000 to $60,000," Peterson said. If the sign's gone? "I lose that."

Sign ordinances, of course, are a necessity and Downers Grove has a good one. Only small signs are allowed and only in the business district. The village would not go on camera for this story but they did issue a statement that says the ordinance is nine years old and 94-percent of businesses have already complied. But Leibundguth Moving has not, which could be costly.

"I could be fined up to $750 a day. . . if I don't take it down," Peterson said. "I've got no choice but to paint it over. Village wins, business loses."