Woman paints house like rainbow, city threatens to issue citation for bold colors

MOLINE, Ill. -- A house freshly painted with every color of the rainbow sparked joy for people in one Illinois neighborhood, but not everyone liked the look.

Just west of Chicago in Moline, resident Taylor Berg and her two sons spent four weeks painting their wood-framed house. Now the red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple home is sparking a movement after city officials threatened to fine her hundreds of dollars a day as the bold colors remained.

"This house is sparking something in the area," said neighbor Galen Leonhardy told WQAD.

"Everybody seemed to like it," Berg said. "I am glad it brings so many smiles to everybody."

From the picket fence to the siding and even the front gate, neighbors say the colorful house is bringing in crowds of people.

"We have hundreds and hundreds of people driving past," said Leonhardy. "The spirit of the rainbow house is giving people something else to focus on."

"People were driving by telling me they love the house," Berg added.

However, Berg says as soon as she finished painting, she was told she was in violation of city code and had until July 21 to repaint her house a color similar to others on the block.

"I got a notice from the city I had to repaint so it was up to code, otherwise I would receive a $750 fine, per day until it was done," she said.

The city soon backtracked issuing a handwritten letter that said they were reversing their decision.

"I think you should be able to paint your house any color you want," Berg said.

Moline city leaders now say the citations were intended for new homes, not existing ones.