Downers Grove Tells Business Owner: 'Paint Over Your Sign'

Bob Peterson, the convivial owner of Leibundguth Moving and Storage Inc., has lived in Downers Grove his entire life.

As a kid, he had the second largest paper route in the village delivering the Downers Grove Reporter. He served in the U.S. Air Force in Vietnam and was a Downers Grove firefighter.

For the past 44 years he’s owned Leibundguth Moving and Storage Inc. at 1301 Warren Ave., one of the village’s oldest businesses established in 1928. Peterson is known as a generous boss and business owner, helping families who’ve been evicted move their belongings. He’s always wanted the best for each and every Downers Grove resident.

Now, the village he loves wants him to paint over the hand-lettered sign that’s been on his building for almost 70 years. Village officials say that the sign is too big and violates an ordinance prohibiting signs painted on to buildings.

Peterson says the historic sign has been on the building for as long as he’s been part of the company. He believes the sign may have been painted by a one-time employee of the Leibundguth family.

“The only one I can think of who painted it is Paul Dressler, who put the original lettering on the trucks,” Peterson said.

For the past several months Peterson has been fighting village hall to change the sign ordinance or grant him a variance, only to have his requests denied. The sign isn’t hurting anyone, and can only be seen by Metra riders.

On Monday, the Chicago-based Liberty Justice Center filed a federal lawsuit against the Village of Downers Grove, claiming the sign ordinance violates Peterson’s constitutional right to free speech and advertising in a lawful, truthful manner.

Jeffrey Schwab, an attorney for the non-profit, non-partisan, public interest litigation center, believes that Peterson has a strong case.

“The pure absurdity is that Bob has had this sign for 70 years and there is no indication that it has been a problem for anyone. All of a sudden he has to paint over it,” Schwab said. “It seems like [the village] has never thought about the signs facing the tracks or knew what they were doing and now has a bad law on their hands.”

When Peterson’s former partner, Edward Leibundguth, died 15 years ago, Peterson never changed the name of the company out of respect for the family.

The Leibundguth sign doesn’t face residential neighborhoods or other businesses. It is only seen by the 12,000 Metra riders that pass by it on their daily commute. Peterson estimates that the sign brings in about $60,000 worth of business each year from Metra riders.

Schwab said that Downers Grove has to show in court that Peterson’s sign threatens public safety or is a blight on the community.

“I don’t think [the village] can do that,” the attorney said. “For whatever reason the ordinance is costing thousands of dollars to small business owners like Bob. It hurts smaller businesses that may have bitten the bullet to comply with the new sign ordinance. Some think their old signs looked better.”

The irony, Schwab continued, is that a block over in downtown Downers Grove, Peterson wouldn’t be affected by the ordinance and he could keep his sign.

A village spokesman told Fox-32 that Downers Grove’s 2005 sign ordinance was a public process and that 96 percent of businesses have complied.

The Liberty Justice Center, which protects the rights of small businesses from government interference, hopes the village will reconsider its sign ordinance which it says is unduly harsh.

Meanwhile, Peterson, who has until April 17, 2015 to bring his sign into compliance, has a remedy in case he loses his lawsuit.

“I notice what’s not in the ordinance is that I could fly one of those big helium balloons for an advertising situation,” Peterson said. “I could tie it to the roof with cable and hang it 100 feet over the warehouse.”