“A former Elgin library board member was convicted Tuesday stealing campaign signs during last spring’s municipal elections.”
That’s the first sentence in George Houde’s Elgin Courier-News article.
The penalty imposed was 14 months of conditional dischage (a form of probation) and ten days community service with the Cook County Sheriff’s Department.
That makes me think of the local union leader I was told was caught red-handed by a candidate with the candidate’s signs in the back of his pick-up truck.
Too bad sign thieves aren’t prosecuted in McHenry County.
= = = = =
As I think about the subject, I remember that Trump signs were stolen from next to my mailbox multiple times.
Lakewood Police finally tracked the guy down (someone in my subdivision) after a friend got a photo of his license plate.
The Police asked if I wanted to file a complaint and I declined.
I thought the visit by an officer was probably enough to convince the guy to stop stealing signs from in front of my home, because, surely, he would be the first place the Lakewood Police would look if another sign disappeared.
See
The first Donald Trump sign that disappeared from next to our mailbox.
- 7-2-17 Two Trump Signs Stolen in Huntley
- 9-7-17 Harvard Man Reports Trump Sign Stolen
- 9-12-17 Trump Sign Stolen
- 10-4-17 Third Trump Sign Stolen
- 10-17-17 Another Trump Sign Stolen
- 10-23-17 Another Stolen Trump Sign – Up To, Is It 6 Now?
First of all Cal, you blew it by not prosecuting.
If you send a message, then this foolishness stops.
I would like to get a legal opinion from someone who knows.
In Cal’s case, the sign was on the public right-of-way, so does that constitute an abandonment of property, and therefore taking the sign was legal?
Garbage left out for pick up ceases to be private property and can be taken or examined by anyone legally.
Also, do signs on Public Property ( right-of-ways, islands, etc.) have legal protection or not?
If so, can the candidate be personally liable for the cost to the Road Districts to remove them after an election if not picked up within several days?
Obviously, a sign on private property is the property of the landowner and removal constitutes theft.
Anyone know the answers?
Filing a complaint is not prosecuting. Whole different ball of wax.
Filing the complaint is the first step.
There will be no prosecution unless there is first a complaint.
No doubt the goofballs that stole Trump campaign signs one year ago have been miserable over the past 12 months and will continue to be miserable for at least the next 3 years. There is no hope for them as they likely are brainwashed by the nonsense and fake news from the mostly leftist Hillary supporting media.
Most gov agencies have laws against all temp signs in their ROWs.
They are old fashioned and are a waste of $$$$.
People who do vote, don’t need the signs to know who is running.
Therefore, why would it be illegal to take it if it is there illegally anyway?
If a property owner agrees to have a political sign on his/her property that is within the legal confines of the property as determined by surveyor pipes in the ground, then taking that sign is theft.
So who was caught? is it a big secret?…come on Cal,Out with the details…what local union leader?
just asking out of curiosity
Bill is right. Out the moron.
Did the moron commit a crime?
The sign was on the right of way.
However, Out the sign-stealing SOB anyway.
It was …. Angel.
Here is an example in March of 2016 two guys I know caught John Walsh stealing signs he even had some in the back of his pick up truck…
Walsh was arrested and ended up going to court..after many continuations he was found guilty placed on 1 year supervision and had to pay $350….
Who is John Walsh ?
The guy that stole signs!
**Too bad sign thieves aren’t prosecuted in McHenry County.
…
The Police asked if I wanted to file a complaint and I declined.**
Huh.
I hereby take advantage of the immense readership of this sunshine blog to make a public request to the miserable person who stole my sign in support of the sunshine blogger from the gubernatorial race back in 2002 to return it immediately. It’s been 15 years of painful misery for all in my family since that horrendous day that sign was stolen; I haven’t cut the grass since…perhaps the sunshine blogger has a few hundred extras in his garage full of useless signs…tic, tock, tic, tock…
From the picture the electric poles are set back but are in the ROW.
The Trump sign is illegal where it’s at.
Cal placing it there was breaking the law.
On top of that, it’s in the way of the mail delivery driver.
Maybe that’s why no complaints were signed.
Partisanship; Stupid is…..
Must been the Parrish Boy’s
They never get caught’ they steal plenty of sign
It was several election cycles ago.
Where?
“Must been”
Just because you cannot read a sign “joe” does not mean it isn’t there nor was it stolen.
“Plenty of sign”
Hmm. Does the computer lab you typed this charge extra for using plural nouns?
Let the sky fall and stop the bird’s song.
Cal is still finding ways to bring political sign theft up when only the tin foil hat crowd and Cal marchers give a rat’s butt.
He even goes so far as to allow for rumor convictions on the subject to continue.
Is Cal an Alex Jones wnnabe?
By the way if that is hie trump sign, he knew darn well he was on the easement.
Needed a conspiracy story.
What a nut ball.
By the way only a loser would still be riding a round in a new Toyota with “retired hose” plates.
Need to be needed in your twilight?
Stealing is stealing, tom. Remember something about Thou shalt not…?
I bet the Libs who stole acouple of my signs still have seats covered in wheel bearing grease. :).
Placed along the edge and zip tied to frame ensured a good coating on their teeny tiny hands.
Funny to see the sign gone and a bunch of paper towels littered about in its place.
Wheel bearing grease for those who don’t know is similar to peanut butter.
A little goes a long way and nearly impossible to get rid of.
I’m looking forward to the same During the next reelection cycle of Trump in the 2020
Please read an additional comment on this ridiculous and useless subject: stealing a tronald dump sign is equivalent to taking down a confederate monument; an insult to our heritage…tic, tock, tic, tock…
Re: “People who do vote, don’t need the signs to know who is running.”
Really?
Become an election judge and listen to: “I saw their sign on the way in”.
It is sad but a majority of the voters have no clue as to who is running for every office.
Generally, voters come in to vote for one or two candidates and have no clue as to who is running for every office.
Why do you think ballot placement makes a difference in voting patterns?
Signs don’t vote but the message they convey certainly impacts the outcome of our elections.
Froggy has a good idea of using wheel bearing grease on the edges of campaign signs.
Another type of grease that is very nasty to get off fingers is that used in allemite suspension and steering joints of tractors and riding mowers.
Of course those who responsibly remove the campaign signs after an election need to wear gloves and have newspapers spread in the trunks of cars or inside their suvs or pickups.
Angel, I really do hope you get the psychological help you need….
This is Llavona loose in the schools before his sex change:
https://scottlong1980.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/use-communist-comic-school-1-copy.jpg
As Questioning has pointed out people are still in a rut.
Fine, keep them off public property where they are illegal.
Many towns also want sign permits, a token admin fee, that should be enforced, not ignored because of political bs.
Llavona, Give back the chips!
https://res.cloudinary.com/teepublic/image/private/s–2nqu7M3H–/t_Preview/b_rgb:484849,c_limit,f_jpg,h_630,q_90,w_630/v1454874179/production/designs/415022_1.jpg
To the compassionate conservative who stole my Bernie Sanders sign last year: Please return it immediately. You may also leave it in the sunshine blogger’s porch. He will deliver it to me. Thank you. Tic, tock, tic, tock…
Comrade Llavona, I think a far better suspect of your claimed theft would be a witch-supporter.
Those Commissar Bernie signs only existed really during the Democratic primary phase of the political season.
—but perhaps you put up your sign as a protest over how the witch deep-sixxed Poor Bernie’s campaign.
Either way, a Hillary minion is the far likelier thief. They like to steal things from others (just like Bernie BTW)
These signs appeared on the west coast and were put up by Bernie people. I kinda liked ’em myself!:
http://media.breitbart.com/media/2014/11/Hillary-Monkey.jpg