In Leibundguth Storage & Van Service v. Village of Downers Grove, the Liberty Justice Center represented Leibundguth Storage & Van Service to protect their First Amendment right to free speech in advertising the business and strike down the sign-ordinance regulations.
The excerpt below is from an article by Dawn Rhodes that appeared December 9, 2014, in the Chicago Tribune.
A Downers Grove business owner is taking to federal court a long-running fight over signs on his building.
Robert Peterson is suing the village of Downers Grove to keep from having to paint over signs deemed in violation of local ordinance. The suit was filed in the Northern District of Illinois on Tuesday before Judge Edmond Chang.
“The village possess no evidence that the ban on any sign painted directly on a wall, including the ban on Plaintiff’s signs, … advances public health and safety or enhances the village’s appearance,” Peterson argues in the lawsuit.
The village hired a Park Ridge-based company this year to assist in enforcing the ordinance, including handing out tickets to owners who did not comply.
For months, Peterson has fought to keep signs painted directly on his building. Such signs are expressly prohibited by the ordinance except in three high-density business districts. A particular sticking point is the sign on the back of the building that directly faces the Burlington Northern Santa Fe train tracks, which the ordinance also doesn’t allow.
