Rejected Darien Sign Idea Resurfaces

DARIEN, IL – Two years ago, the Darien City Council rejected a digital sign at the intersection that officials consider the main entryway into the city.

They, instead, went with a "City of Darien" wall and a water feature. It is at the northwest corner of Plainfield Road and Cass Avenue.

That was in addition to the city's clock tower and water fountain on the northeast corner.

Now, Darien has an opportunity to beautify the southwest corner, where an office building sits.

Earlier this summer, a driver went off the road and ran into the sign on that corner, officials said.

"That sign has been mangled and just hanging there for the last couple of months," Mayor Joseph Marchese said at Tuesday's City Council meeting. "The property owner now has settled with the insurance company."

The city has approached the owner and talked about some type of cost-sharing agreement for a digital sign above a sign with the names of the businesses.

The digital sign could include ads for the city and local nonprofits as well as private businesses, Marchese said.

Two years ago, a majority of aldermen turned down a digital sign proposal, with some saying the city should get more ads on the digital sign.

Then and now, the city is talking with a company that could set up a plan for the sign.

Alderwoman Mary Sullivan said she was not opposed to the city's involvement with a digital sign.

"My major concern, as it was prior, was the lack of control over what's on the sign," she said.

Sullivan and other aldermen said they wanted dollar amounts for various possibilities. They made no decisions.

In 2020, the council debated the idea of a digital sign over several meetings.