Elgin to give out 300 yard signs supporting essential workers

The city of Elgin worked with local artists to create banners and yard signs in support of essential workers, and it will be giving away 300 of those yard signs to the public.

Two banners depicting health care workers and saying "Not all heroes wear capes" were installed Wednesday morning outside Advocate Sherman Hospital and Amita Health Saint Joseph Hospital in Elgin. The banners were created by local artist Ivette De Santiago of West Dundee.

The yard signs, created by artist Adrian Mesino of Elgin, depict essential workers such as first responders, teachers, grocery store workers and more. The yard signs are bilingual, with English on one side and Spanish on the other, and phrases like "Underneath it all there is hope."

The city's cultural arts commission funded the project with $2,651 out of its city budget.

"The idea was to leverage our amazing local artistic talent and show our essential workers that we are behind them," said Amanda Harris, assistant to the city manager for special projects and the arts. "The artists were very eager to jump on board and had draft versions to staff within a week."

The city will be installing some of the yards signs on public property, and the remainder will be available for Elgin residents and businesses to display.

The city is working with the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin to arrange locations for pickup of yard signs, which haven't arrived yet. To request a yard sign in advance, contact the Chamber at (847) 741-5660 or info@elginchamber.com, or the DNA at (847) 488-1456 or info@downtownelgin.com.