Daily Archives: June 26, 2010

Peoria Public Schools

D150 attorney Walvoord to retire

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From the Journal Star:

After more than four decades of practicing law, 42 years alone in Peoria providing legal advice to School District 150, the man behind the bow tie [David Walvoord] is retiring.

Oddly, I don’t see anywhere in the article an effective date for Walvoord’s retirement. Is he retiring immediately? Or July 1? Or December 31? I must just be missing it, since that would be a basic bit of information to include in such an article, being one of the five W’s and all. If you find it, please let me know.

It will be interesting to see if the District 150 board simply gets a new attorney from the same law firm now that Walvoord is leaving, or if they will put their legal services out for bid.

State Legislation, State of Illinois

Quinn says time limits on campaign signs violate free speech

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Following up my last post, I ran across this press release from Governor Quinn’s office explaining his support for HB 3785:

Governor Quinn Signs Legislation Protecting Free Speech in Illinois
Municipalities Cannot Restrict Political Signs on Residential Properties

CHICAGO – June 3, 2010. Governor Pat Quinn today signed a bill into law that prevents municipalities throughout Illinois from restricting the display of political campaign signs on residential property at any time.

“Government has no place restricting free speech,” said Governor Quinn. “This bill will protect the First Amendment rights of residents across Illinois and strengthens participatory democracy for us all.”

House Bill 3785 prohibits Illinois’ municipalities from restricting the display of outdoor political campaign signs on residential property during any period of time. Under current Illinois law, municipalities may pass and enforce local ordinances establishing time periods during which residents or landowners may display political campaign signs on their property. Under the new law, municipalities may still place reasonable restrictions on the size of such signs.

The new law brings Illinois into compliance with several court cases, including City of Ladue v. Gilleo. The 1994 U.S. Supreme Court decision affirmed that outdoor political yard signs are protected First Amendment speech and municipalities may not prohibit their display on residential property.

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Michael Tryon (R-Crystal Lake) and Sen. Pamela Althoff (R-McHenry), passed the Illinois General Assembly nearly unanimously and was supported by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois. It takes effect on January 1.

In a statement filed with the Illinois House Elections and Campaign Reform Committee, the ACLU of Illinois stated that, “yard signs are a traditional, effective and protected way for home owners to communicate with their neighbors and passersby about political elections and public issues.” The organization also argued that municipalities should not be able to prohibit the display of such signs at any time since many political candidates announce their candidacies long before an election takes place.

If you’re interested, you can read the 1994 Supreme Court ruling by clicking here. It seems odd that this ruling has been around for 16 years, but Illinois is only recently concerned about complying with it.