Winfield candidate unhappy about sign removal

A trustee candidate in Winfield is accusing village administrators of targeting his campaign in a sign code enforcement push that resulted in the removal of many of his yard signs.

Tim Allen, one of five candidates vying for three village board seats in the April 5 election, said a recent sign sweep nearly halved the number of campaign signs he has in town. Officials, however, say the removal had nothing to do with politics and was merely an effort to enforce sign codes.

Allen was not buying it and said the sweep is retribution for past political disagreements with Village President Deb Birutis and Village Manager Curt Barrett.

“There is no doubt in my mind that it was (politically motivated),” Allen said. “I’ve given Deb and Curt more headaches than they care to deal with. They don’t want to work with me and I think it’s coming down from them.”

In the past, Allen has butted heads with the leaders of the group that backed Birutis during her 2009 run for village president, Winfield United.

Last week, street crews were instructed to enforce sign codes that limit placement on the public’s right of way, which generally ends about 33 feet from the center of a road.

Barrett denied Allen’s accusations and said the sweeps were meant to clear the town of all signs that were not on private property, including campaign and real estate signs.

“If they are on public property, we are trying to remove them and keep the town clear of those on public property,” he said. “We are asking residents to let us know and we have been getting complaints about where they are showing up.”

The village’s code prohibits signs from appearing on the public right-of-way. Barrett said the code is clear and any resident who has questions about where the right of way ends should contact the village.

“We recognize that isn’t always discernible by a property owner,” Barrett said. “But many properties have property stakes and, in many cases, they were able to identify those stakes. If it was a close call, we would leave it.”

Campaign signs in Winfield have been a source of contention for years and that led to a revision of the codes in 2010. The new codes tightened restrictions and stated that the signs must be kept off public property, Barrett said.

He said any resident can call village hall to find out where the public right of way ends in front of their homes.

“When we get complaints, we certainly need to uphold what the village code is,” he said.

Meanwhile, Allen said he has met with Public Works Superintendent Tye Loomis to collect the signs that were removed.

Allen said he understood Loomis was just doing his job and said top administrators are to blame.