Strip club billboard ad comes down after complaint from city

A billboard overlooking the I-90 Tollway near Des Plaines that promoted an Elgin strip club was changed Wednesday to plug a local radio station following a complaint at Monday's city council meeting.

The earlier advertisement - showing a woman's head tilted back, her arms and shoulder bare - drew complaints from Des Plaines parents who said their children could see the "suggestive" sign from their ball fields at Seminole Park.

Seminole Park, at Scott Street and Halsey Drive, is home to the Devon-Higgins Little League. Roughly 100 5- to 16-year-old boys play baseball there all spring and summer. While the billboard faces the tollway, it is in full view of the park.

One of the parents urged the city council to do something Monday night. On Wednesday, Des Plaines Mayor Marty Moylan called parent and coach Chris Peterson personally to say the billboard company had agreed to change the ad, which Peterson said was taken down Wednesday morning.

"I'm very happy," said Peterson, who grew up playing baseball at that park and has three sons in the Little League. "I'm excited that the city, and possibly even the billboard company, did care about it enough to change it that quickly."

Following Monday's meeting, City Attorney Dave Wiltse urged billboard company, CBS Outdoor, to consider taking down the strip club ad because it was in poor taste.

A company official committed to removing the ad in a couple of days, Wiltse said, but he was surprised how quickly it happened.

"We appreciate them being good corporate neighbors - understanding the sensitivity of the situation, and acting in such a timely fashion," Wiltse said.

City officials said did not know how much longer the ad had been scheduled to run. An official with CBS Outdoor could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Moylan said the company was "very agreeable and cooperated fully."

He added: "That's what city government is all about, working with citizens to get positive results on their complaints. And on this issue, we were very successful."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=308483">Residents complain 'suggestive' billboard too close to kids' ballfield <span class="date">[07/22/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>