Thursday, March 31, 2011

Uptown Bus Stops Endorse Phelan?

A reader writes in:
"I saw this Phelan campaign poster at the CTA bus stop at Wilson/Sheridan - SE corner. Is this allowed... to put a campaign poster on CTA property? Seems a little wrong to me either way. They were at nearly every CTA bus shelter on the 148 route this morning."

43 comments:

  1. I saw one too on the bus stop at Sheridan and Irving. I don't know if it's allowed but it doesn't seem like it should be.

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  2. Tear them down, they are absolutly banned on CTA property.

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  3. Phelan also has the wooden utility pole in alley vote.

    Also many vacant lots seem to be supporting her and parking lots dig her too.

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  4. @IP: Including the vacant stores across from the Sheridan el. Every window has her sign. Better be careful if you even glance at them lest you want Yellow Dog Democrat chasing you down the block.

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  5. All north and south bound on/off ramps along LSD from Irving to Lawrence adore Phelan.

    The median divide "flower planter" in the middle of the Drive seem to be neutral at the moment. Guessing no Phelan campaign worker is willing to risk it.

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  6. FYI, any space between the sidewalk and the street, whether grassy, with plants or bare, is also city property and signs are illegal there too... just saying..

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  7. If YDD chases me he'll need a set of Neuticles after I'm done with him.

    http://www.neuticles.com/

    My dad's maternal grandfather used to castrate sheep with his teeth. Irish mud farmer.

    Take that and compare it to Molly's prosecutorial and social work experience.

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  8. It seems to me that Campaign Phelan has lost a great deal of signage.

    Being good citizens we should probably return the signs that are on public property to her office.

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  9. I ride the 135 downtown and they were on every shelter, even in Lakeview within the 46th Ward from Irving Park/Clarendon all the way down to Inner Lake Shore Drive and Cornelia. Molly's people do really disregard the law and the regulations. It is very annoying.

    For more important reasons, I am supporting James on April 5.

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  10. Maybe this is her alternative to Cappleman's beautification ideas.I'm sure those signs are much cheaper than the flower pots she keeps telling me I should be afraid of.

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  11. I have also seen but the front of large condo garage doors her signs appear on private property on each side of the in & out doors. She had 4 put on the front and rear door areas of our condo but since this is private property and no permission from the condo management, they where thrown into our garbage compactor.

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  12. I collected about ten signs all on city property along hazel and agatite. Whether it was legal or illegal I could care less. I will tear every one of these annoying signs up on sight. I remember when you had to go to campaign office and get your own yard sign to put up. Now they pay people to go put them up everywhere because NOONE is requesting signs from Molly Phelan.

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  13. I think I will be a good citizen this afternoon and return a few of these signs. It will be fun just to see the reaction.

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  14. I plan to present one of Molly's illegal and environmentally defacing signs to her this evening when she comes for a meet and greet in our building.

    This one was scotch-taped to our Marine Drive bus stop - was positioned just perfectly to block senior citizens sitting down waiting there from seeing a bus coming. She's losing seniors' votes with these rude and crude machine-ward tactics.

    Hopefully, this Phelan sign-desperation is like her hate mailer desperation - a sign that she has given up trying to persuade voters with reason or any information about why anyone would vote for her or information about anything real and positive that she has ever done in her short tenure in our ward.

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  15. I tore it down two hours ago.

    Also, I would've done the same with a Cappleman flier there like I did on election day when Patricia Horton signs suddenly appeared on my street.

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  16. You guys complain a lot on here.

    If you think it is illegal, call the local or state election commission and report it. You will then find out if it is legal or not. I dont know if its legal on bus shelters, but regardless of the candidate I don't really care as long as it's gone after the election. But if I did care, I sure would be making a phone call to the election commission before I tear down someone's 1st Amendment right to free speech.

    I'm not so sure about bus shelters being private property though, the shelters are included in Civil plans for CDOT and IDOT which they pay for as far as I know with our tax dollars. CTA may do the maintenance, but not sure if they own it??? Doesn't really make sense, but I dont see why bus shelters are on roadway plans that have nothing to do with the CTA. Of course there may be some coordination going on there between the two entities I don't know about.

    Of course, again, I stress that if you feel that signs are posted illegally please call the election commission before tearing down someone's 1st Amendment right to FREE SPEECH. They will hopefully do their job, call Campaign Phelan and the illegal signs will be removed and never be posted again.

    Now can you guys start arguing about things that matter?

    Instead of Phelans ridiculous mailers, Cappleman is getting his negative campaigning done here with a lot of the commentors.... My opinion is that it's just as shameful.

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  17. Bus shelters are privately owned property, owned and supplied by JCDecaux, a French company, in exchange for the right to advertise.

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  18. TSN,
    Good to know. Thanks for the info. I still believe rather than going around tearing down signs it's best to make a few phone calls instead of erroneously ripping down signs that may be there legally. This way the campaign in question will possibly get into some trouble with fines, and hopefully they will learn their lesson.

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  19. I see 'Citizens for Cappleman' has joined the negative campaigning. I just found a flyer in my lobby about Molly's 'right-wing special interests' and her agenda to 'block reform in Chicago City Hall'.

    Reading the comments on this blog makes me wonder who is working with bigger thugs, James or Molly?

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  20. I put those signs up, at least the bus shelters among others.
    Big deal. She is my candidate and people have been hanging up political signs during elections since there have been elections.
    I wonder what the Greeks used.....?
    I don't know if it is legal or not anymore than I know if putting a lawn chair out in the street (dibs) is but its done so.....big deal.
    I will be out there the next day taking them down however because its the right thing to do.

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  21. Didn't I read somewhere that Molly says she has knocked on around 8000 doors? She can show that she respects the voters' right to a clean community (since she has the support of the Sierra Club) by asking nicely (when she knocks on all those doors) if the door opener would be so kind as to put up one of her handy-dandy campaign posters on their own property.

    I googled the subject, and found this from a 1994 Tribune article:

    "Posting political campaign signs on public property is generally an accepted practice, although in Chicago it remains a violation of a city ordinance and-theoretically, at least-carries a $10 to $200 fine for each offense. Few if any scofflaws are ever prosecuted, though, because campaign workers typically operate at night to avoid being caught.

    "We will definitely prosecute if people come forward with information," said Nina Cadsawan, a spokeswoman for the city's Law Department.

    The rule of thumb for political organizations that choose to ignore the law is: Clean up your own mess."

    It also mentions that the City takes them down, at some expense to taxpayers, after the elections. But I'm quite sure that Molly--being concerned as she is about the City's fiscal health and about good use of OUR taxes (aka, "'her' money")--will make sure that it doesn't cost us anything to take down her poster blizzard after the election is done.

    http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-03-19/news/9403190036_1_campaign-workers-public-property-signs

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  22. Tearing down a campaign sign off a bus shelter or alley way post is shutting down someone's First Amendment rights???

    Nah. Don't think so.

    I know more than ANYONE on this blog does about having your "free expression" torn off of public or private property (check out my blog).

    I'm taking down a sign that doesn't belong there. If I can deal with a piece I've worked on for over 20 hours being cut off a bus shelter, so to can the person who put up campaign signs.

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  23. @ bear60640

    As the quote in one of my favorite movies "Stripes" with Bill Murray said: Lighten up Francis!

    I guess since your so hardnosed we should start prosecuting lost cat and yard sale sign violators.

    As far as the sock puppet thingy goes I guess you would throw the book at her too because Nina Cadsawan said so in 1994 during what must have been one helluva slow newsweek.

    Maybe we should rewrite the law to suit your personal taste and sensibilities Mr Bear.

    Molly's signs ROCK!

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  24. I guess that the taxpayers should send RacineRacer the $10-$200 bill / fine for each posting of un-paid-for political signs on public property (or public property leased by a private company as a bus shelter, not as a space for scotch-taped FREE defacing ads that block seniors and others from seeing the bus coming).

    Molly today in at a meeting in our building claimed that she was not aware of any of her signs being put up on Bus Shelters.

    She also claimed that she is not aware of any negative mail pieces sent by her campaign, and asked a resident to show her one.

    -- So the resident handed her a Whole Foods bag full of these -which voters have flung in disgust into the trash in our mail room over the past few days - for Molly to properly recycle - being endorsed by Sierra and all.

    Each one said:

    "Paid for by Friends of Molly FAILING (oops) Phelan",

    Lying seems to have become a fine art for Ms. Molly, by Golly!

    This also was the 2nd Time that Molly had to have a guy come up and SPEAK FOR HER because she didn't want to answer the question posed to her from the audience.

    Not a good indication of being an adult.

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  25. C'mon guys, let's take it down a notch. As we've been saying all along, we're all gonna still live next door to each other on April 6th. Flinging insults at each other will not get your candidate elected.

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  26. BP,

    Just chill man. Molly has no support in this ward, all of her money comes from outside the ward, so nobody will vote for her. (You must live in the ward to vote for the alderman.) Don't worry about it.

    You comments remind me of a bad oil spill.

    Thanks CN!

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  27. @Racine Racer:

    Uh...yeah.

    The difference between people posting lost pet flyers and people putting up political posters...is that lost pet flyers cover a few prominent locations in a discrete area of a few square blocks--and the people who put them up have an immediate problem with no $100K+ budget to do multi-media advertising with flyers, mailers, websites, and legal advertising on CTA and elsewhere. You admitted yourself that you plastered public property for BLOCKS with advertising that is only about a spoiled carpetbagger wanting to buy herself an election...like we haven't already been inundated by her blitz. Someone's flyers seeking a lost pet might take all of one man-hour for the City to remove--if the pet's owner doesn't take them down him/herself...the cost in man-hours and disposal to remove the political pollution plastering the neighborhood (paid for, primarily, by interests far outside of the neighborhood) would likely exceed the amount that Molly's campaign paid for it. That's *MY* tax dollars, too, buddy...and I would rather have that money be used for something more useful--like another police officer or two--or more DECORATIVE, like some PLANTERS.

    In case you didn't know, our part of Uptown conducts a community garage/yard sale every summer--it started because it IS illegal to post signs for them without city approval, and the permission is shared amongst dozens. We keep our neighborhood looking nicer by giving people the locations of participants and keep the sign pollution to a minimum. What have YOU done to make your neighborhood a nicer and more inviting place to live and visit?

    It's not my personal tastes...not my personal sensibilities...it is the law. Not only am I a law-abiding citizen, I also have respect for my neighbors by not subjecting them to visual pollution like you've decided to share. Put one of Molly's posters in your windows if you want...just don't put them where all of us have to pay out to take them down after Tuesday.

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  28. Hey all,

    I have been out of town but just got back and there were a ton of Cappleman/Phelan flyers. I am seriously ROTFLMAO.

    I seriously wish the normal people who comment here could come over for a drink and celebrate the end of this BS.

    From the James Campaign:

    "Phelan's backers are busy helping the tea party gain control of congress."

    (Had to stop typing, uncontrolled laughter.)

    Not sure what the point of the three pictures is.

    LOL! From the Molly campaign.

    "Why is a republican kingmaker backing James Cappleman?"

    This is truly a new low in politics. You can call Molly a homophobe, you can call James weak, you can attack the families of the candidates, you can call them corrupt, that is all part of the game. HOWEVER. The candidates calling each other republicans? Wow. That is the most low down insult I have ever seen in politics. Truly disgusting. I demand that BOTH candidates withdraw from the race, as this shows that NEITHER has the character to lead. I can here it now when I walk into the new alderman's office, "This isn't your college campus, REPUBLICAN!!

    Write in Captain Picard for alderman. IP-Join me as my first officer, and together, we can rule the 46th ward as father and son! Come to the dark side!

    Oops, wrong si-fi reference.

    PICARD FOR A BETTER 46TH!!! BECAUSE HE IS NOT REPUBLICAN!!!!

    I need a drink.

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  29. Ok Ok, one more... can't resist.

    "Someone's flyers seeking a lost pet might take all of one man-hour for the City to remove-"

    City union employees move slow but not THAT slow... GEEZ.

    Or, the alternative....

    That would take at least 8 man hours. You have to have the guy driving the truck from the "I Drive The Truck" union, the guy from the "I Ride in the Passanger Seat" Union, the guy from the "staple-removers union," the guy from the "Take the Papers Off The Utility Poles Union" not to mention the "I Stand Around and Do Nothing" Union.

    (RIM SHOT.)

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  30. Back to the sign thing.

    Earlier tonight I walked by a number of bus shelters where the signs had been removed.

    I just came in and new signs had been put up.

    Seems like we have a battle of wills going on.

    In the dark of night no less......

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  31. MM,

    I'll have to check out your blog. I still stand by my comment about making a phone call before tearing down campaign signs. Although they more than likely are there illegally, for all we know there is a minuscule possibility the campaign has received permission and/or possibly paid to post signs there. Again, I doubt it, but the best thing to do in my opinion is to call the election commission before tearing down signs you believe are not legally. Alas? We can agree to disagree. It really doesn't bother me that other people tear down signs, but it would if I was doin' it and I wasn't 100% sure if they had permission or paid for it.

    Now on to discussing things that actual matter.

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  32. Capstone, pleeeze. We all know CTA is not giving permission to post political signs. What concerns me is that Molly feels like it's okay to ignore rules and play unfair. That behavior that occurs now will no doubt occur if she was alderman. You and I both know that.

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  33. Holey Moley,

    I agree, but do you know that for an absolute fact? I don't since regardless of where either candidates signs are located, it doesnt bother me one iota. Tear them down, you can, I just believe the right thing to do before hand is to make a call to check the legallity of that particular sign, whether they paid, have permission, or neither.. However, I have a feeling that if it were a Cappleman sign, there wouldnt be any outrage. Just as there wasnt when another commenter mentioned Cappleman's negative mailers that showed up yesterday. And no, its not the "she did it, so I can do it" excuse. If Cappleman sends out negative mailers, I ask you, will it occur when he is alderman?? I'm willing to bet no. I am also willing to bet no with Molly too. AND, I am actually willing to bet that they will work together with whom ever is victorious in the election.

    So get out and post some signage for Cappleman, donate some money, volunteer(not saying you havent).... These petty issues about signage and mailers in the long run has nothing to do with the effectiveness James will have as alderman over Molly. Trust me, there are much better things to be debating and commenting about..... Sadly, only 2% of the comments actually talk about those things.

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  34. UU, put up James negative mailer too.

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  35. I think it is pretty apparent how well the sign-blasting of the ward worked from Tom O'Donnell in the 47th ward. In fact, I don't remember seeing even one sign for Alderman-Elect Pawar.

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  36. There were Pawal signs out there. Just not many.

    Team O'Donnell even rented a Ryder rental truck and parked it in front of a business displaying Pawal signs.

    They festooned the truck in O'Donnell signs.

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  37. Capstone,

    Please check out the blog! If there was as much outrage when one of our knit/crocheted things got torn down... I'd have a lot more site hits... and be concerned about our fans.

    Agree to disagree def.

    There are much more important issues than this. I DO think putting up signs on property that you don't own/live in is a campaign tactic but that it's MOST LIKELY not one that a candidate is actually informed about. It boosts name recognition even though it annoys some.

    Honestly, the nicely produced signs of either candidate are an improvement from the mostly ugly graffiti around the ward.

    I take them down... really out of fairness. And the person who put them up there? They knew they'd get taken down as much as I know my stuff will. It's part of the fun of it.

    And CTA stuff gets taken down faster than most. One of my cohorts put up a sticker with knit work scanned and printed on the VERY SAME bus shelter one night and by the next morning, there wasn't even an adhesive mark left.

    The signs are an annoyance that is easy to yell and complain about on blogs and Facebook. Much easier than issues. It's the same reason I make fun of Molly Phelan's hair. Less taxing (and slightly more enjoyable) than discussing the real issues.

    Please don't hate on me because I'm honest. : )

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  38. They are all taped up along Lake Shore Drive CTA owned bus shelters again.

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  39. Has anyone noticed that some of the Phelan yard signs, the kind that stick in the ground, have a Phelan poster taped over them?

    Have you wondered what is under the Phelan posters stapled to each side?

    Wonder no more.

    In the wee hours of this morn, under cover of darkness and my pirate invisibility cloak, I "liberated" such a sign that was in the public way on my way home from "religious services".

    What is under the taped Phelan posters you ask?

    You're asking right?

    Do you wanna know?

    Can you feel the excitement building?

    Tom O'Donnell for 47th Ward signs.

    Yes, the machine hack who lost just to the west of us must have donated his signage to Campaign Phelan.

    Phelan, being the green candidate and Sierra Club endorsed, made use of the signs.

    So what does this tell us?

    Phelan is thrifty.

    She is also a part of "da machine".

    After I sober up later I shall make a video of me unmasking the sign I "liberated".

    Tuesday is gonna be amusing in a bad way folks. If you can take some time off from work volunteer to help Cappleman. If they're reusing signage imagine what shall descent upon us Tuesday morn.

    It might be biblical. Not that wimpy love they neighbor New Testament stuff. I'm talking Old Testament. Fire in the sky, cats and dogs living together, locusts, destruction, death and the dead rising from Graceland to vote.

    Or possibly not.

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  40. I contacted UU about this last week. Phelan signs can be seen along Marine drive all the way north to Foster (which by the way is in the 48th ward, not 46th.) I also contacted the CTA to get their comment and to ask if they endorse Molly. They said no. Today I was driving along Marine drive south of Foster and saw more of the Phelan signs on the CTA bus stops. I called the Phelan campaign to let them know and the woman on the phone told me that she wasn't convinced that it wasn't the Cappleman campaign that had put them there. I told her that it doen't matter and that the blame game can be played forever. The law clearly states that they cannot be put there and that they should be taken down. When are Chicago politicians going to grow up and stop acting like children? It's very demoralizing for those of us who really want to see good public policy and positive government service from our elected officials.

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  41. Not to belabor this, but when Molly was in our building on Marine Drive for a Q & A session with residents on Thursday evening, the 1st Question asked of her was about her illegal sign-posting on Bus Shelters.

    The person asking and another person who chimed in, were asked by Molly's thugs to leave the meeting.

    Molly, did not answer except to say that her campaign "was not aware" of these signs". She also said that she was "not aware" of the hate-mail being sent by "Paid for by Friends of Molly Phelan".

    Scary that not answering citizens' questions and not being aware of what your campaign thugs are doing is what Molly thinks is "being a leader".

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  42. Guess Molly doesn't know where the 46th ward begins or ends. On Saturday I was on the #146 heading south and noticed that there were "Elect Molly Phelan" signs in each bus shelter all along Marine Drive/Lake Shore Drive. They stopped at the Belmont stop, which isn't part of the 46th ward. I called Tom Tunney's office asking if he was aware that Molly was now running for his seat, and the person I spoke with wasn't amused. My other observation is for someone who is being endorsed by the Sierra Club you would think they wouldn't be wasting paper campaigning in a ward that she isn't part of.

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