The Marion County Board has unanimously rejected placing an electronic sign on a six foot tall pole on the front courthouse lawn. The decision came after concerns were expressed about what the sign would do to the look of the historic courthouse.
Attorney Jennifer Price minced no words on what a bad idea the sign was.
“To have this beautiful courthouse sullied by a garish plastic blinking sign is a travesty in my opinion,” Smith said. “And then when you find out it costs $44,000—oh I know, ‘it’s free money, and it’s a grant.’ It’s not free money, and we all know it.”
Attorney Eric Terlizzi expressed similar thoughts on the negative impact. Resident Circuit Court Judge Mark Stedelin also weighed in.
“We can raise this building to the dignity of a 7-11 by putting a plastic sign up,” Stedelin joked. “So, I would ask the board to just reconsider placing the sign there.”
The board then took a vote and unanimously voted against the sign. The county will now return the $44,000 in grant money from an Illinois Supreme Court Committee that was going to pay for the sign. The county initially sought grant money for a directional sign at the public service building to point out the location of various county offices, but the state funding committee rejected that idea in favor of a sign that would randomly advertise non-courthouse-related functions.
