New Rules for New Honorary Signs in Chicago after February 2017
Linda Zabors
In the February 2017 Chicago City Council meeting strict restrictions were made to the 1984 ordinance which set forth the process of dedicating an honorary street in Chicago.
The changes are as follows:
Each ward is limited to 2 new honorary street designations per year
The cost of the honorary sign production, installation, and removal will be paid by the Ward
Each new honorary street will be marked by only 2 honorary signs
Signs can only be installed on an existing sign post
No honorary designations can share the same segment of street
The proposal must contain a map of the blocks to be dedicated (minimum 2 continuous blocks on the same street)
Living people are not eligible for honorary streets
The honorary street name cannot be the same as an official street
The proposal must contain the biography and reason for the the dedication and the name cannot be
If the proposal is rejected the named party cannot be reconsidered for one year
Designations expire after 5-years (renewable for an additional 5-years) after which the sign is to be removed
After
2 new honorary street designations per Ward per year regardless of the geographic size or population of the Ward
Street segments are exclusive to a single designation
The honored individual must be dead
Signs are limited to a renewable 5-year term
Before
Unrestricted number of signs and designations bestowed
Multiple honorary designations allowed per location
Installed for an indefinite length of time
Opaque qualifications for selection
People can be honored during their lifetime
With the new restrictions the City will have a maximum of 100 new honorary streets per year (50 Wards allowed 2 new honorary designations each).
Editors note:
In 2016 there were 85 new honorary street designations
15 wards had more than 2
16 wards had zero
The 5-year expiration date applies to existing signs
Source: City Ordinance, February 22, 2017