Chicago City Council Revamps Sign Code on Michigan Ave.

In Chicago, politics has been a contact sport since the days Mayor Richard J. Daley ruled the city with an iron fist. And, as you’d expect, signage has not been exempt from acromonious confrontations. Mayor Rahm Emanual and real-estate mogul Donald Trump enaged in a public feud about the 20-ft.-tall letters "The Donald" had erected on Chicago’s Trump Tower. Also, city officials and owners of the Cubs also endured contentious negotiations about what signage would be permitted when $575 million in renovations are completed in time for Opening Day 2018.

In the Windy City’s latest sign-related headlines, Alderman Brendan Reilly, who represents the city’s 42nd District, a downtown precinct, sponsored an ordinance change, which was approved by the City Council’s Zoning Committee on October 28. It stipualtes that illuminated cabinet signs gradually be replaced by halo-lit channel letters. In an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, he said, "As the older signs transition out, and when spaces [gain new tenants], we’ll see far less visual clutter than letterbox signs create. It’s raising the design standards for the Michigan Ave. streetwall. The ordinance will cul the herd of 20- to 30-year-old, cheaper-looking, illuminated Plexiglas [faced] box signs. After four or five tough winters, the Plexiglas is often clouded, cracked or broken and is tough to maintain. It drags down the aesthetics of the entire corridor."

He continued, "I’m less focused on north of the [Chicago] River than I am about addressing a lot of the clutter south of the river. There’s going to be a lot of new constuction at 152, 200, 333 and 360 North Michigan Ave. As they’re [finding tenants for] retail spaces, this will bring a higher design standard for signage."

For the full article, click here.