The city of ELGIN, Ill. demands a 94-year-old woman take down and remove her Impeach Trump sign down
Klamath Falls, OR— Elgin woman fighting to keep ‘Impeach Trump’ sign up after the city says it must come down.
Elgin woman's 'Impeach President Trump Now' sign must come down, the city says. Myra Becker, 94, put an "Impeach President Trump Now" sign in her yard in February. The city says it's larger than allowed by ordinance and asked Becker to remove it, but she plans to fight that.
A 94-year-old Elgin woman is planning to fight a request from the city to remove an oversize political sign in her yard.
Myra Becker said that at her age, she doesn't get many chances to leave her west side home, much less participate in political events. That's why in February she commissioned three signs, each measuring 3 feet by 3 feet, 8 inches, stating "Impeach President Trump Now!" she said.
"I'm a 94-year-old woman with a strong feeling about the president," Becker said. "I can't march and I can't protest. I'm on a walker and there are all the things I can't do, but I can put a sign." Becker had one of the signs installed in her yard, stored one in her garage, and gave another to neighbors down the street.
A code compliance officer paid a visit to Becker and her neighbors on Monday and asked them to remove the signs within 24 hours, saying that at more than 11 square feet the signs are larger than the 3 square feet allowed by city ordinance.
City spokeswoman Molly Center said the city's 311 call center was contacted by someone asking if the sign was allowed by code. The next step would be issuing Becker a written violation notice to comply within 24 hours, which would be followed by a $50 ticket, which can be contested by mail, Center said. Code compliance officers plan to check in again by the end of the week.
The issue is not the content, "it just has to be the right size," she said.
The neighbors removed their sign Monday. Becker said she's not planning to do that just yet and will look into appealing any notices she gets.
"It's been out there for a long time. Nobody said anything, and I am surprised that they are now," she said, adding she didn't know about size limits when she commissioned the signs. "I don't plan on breaking the law either, so I have to find out what you do when you have this kind of conflict."
Neighbor Carl Flaks said he's not happy he and his wife were asked to remove their sign, "but if that's the code, I'll abide by the law."
"The possibility of a smaller sign is in the back of my mind, but I'm not sure I'm ready to pursue that. I'm interested in seeing what happens with Myra and the city."
“I think the Republican congresspeople are wimps. I guess, whatever word may be better, you use your judgment,” she said.
She is a lifelong Democrat, who says she has voted for some Republicans, just not Donald Trump.
Becker said somebody had to speak up, and that somebody was her.
She said her message is simple and straightforward but respectful of the office.
Someone called the City of Elgin to complain about her sign in May.
Frank Shields, one of Becker’s neighbors, is on the polar opposite end of her political thinking.
“If you live in this country how can you be anti-president? The man has done wonders for this country in spite of half thinking he didn't,” Shields said.
Becker swears she’s not anti-president just anti-Trump and while she considers her next steps—the sign will stay put—she’s already called a sign company to see if she can get a sign made with the same message just smaller.
“This is too precious. Our democracy is much too precious to let this happen,” she said.
UPDATE:
Myra Becker, a 94-year-old Elgin woman who had an oversized "Impeach President Donald Trump Now" sign in her yard, decided to have it cut down Wednesday to conform with city code. The sign now says "Impeach" in large letters and "Trump" is smaller letters. "When I first did it, I didn't think about the size. I wanted a big sign," Becker said. "I thought about it, and if that's the rules, I will conform to the rules." Link ----> Elgin woman downsizes her 'Impeach Trump' sign
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