Mt. Prospect sign maker White Way files bankruptcy
Mount Prospect-based White Way Sign & Maintenance Co. Inc., a maker of iconic signs for Wrigley Field, Madison Square Garden, Hollywood Casino, Kohl's and others, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.
The company had up to $50 million in liabilities and up to $10 million in assets. Its largest creditors include Cabot Industrial Value Fund in Boston seeking $376,000, American OPTO Plus LED Corp. in Pomona, Calif., seeking about $264,000, and Hershey Entertainment & Resorts in Pennsylvania seeking about $81,500, according to documents filed Nov. 12 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago.
The recession, less new construction, and the consolidation of banks and other companies all led to White Way's bankruptcy filing, said the company's attorney, Jim Morgan with the Howard & Howard law firm in Chicago.
"They held out for as long as they could, but it was just too much for them," Morgan said Wednesday.
The company, founded by Thomas F. Flannery Sr. in 1916, manufactured signs for sports parks, nightclubs, banks, hotels, retail stores, restaurants and others for nearly a century, according to the company's website, www.whiteway.com.
The company started in Chicago and moved about seven years ago to Mount Prospect. It also made some acquisitions throughout the years, including Arrow Sign Co. in the 1980s. That's also about the time when it created the exploding scoreboard and later the video scoreboard for the Chicago White Sox, the website said.
Thomas Flannery Sr. was an Irish immigrant and electrician by trade. He founded the company after returning from serving in World War I, the Daily Herald wrote in 2008.
Subsequent generations of Flannerys continued to lead the company, adding new technology and techniques.
For example, White Way built the Chicago Theatre marquee in 1994, replacing the 1920s-era sign that was donated to the Smithsonian.
Executives at White Way did not immediately return a call seeking comments.
White Way joined the Mount Prospect Chamber of Commerce in 2012, but it was not an active member for the last year and was recently dropped as a member for nonrenewal of its dues, said chamber Executive Director Dawn Fletcher Collins.