Hinsdale Ribbon Foe Wants Even Tougher Policy

HINSDALE, IL — Hinsdale trustees apparently took the village by surprise last month after they discussed a policy on memorial ribbons without giving the public notice. The policy was announced a few days later.

The policy requires ribbons to be taken down from trees in the village's rights-of-way within 14 days. It also says those who put them up are responsible for taking them down. And it lets residents remove ribbons on the rights-of-way in front of their houses.

Despite last month's discussion, the village put nothing on its agenda about ribbons.

During public comments at Tuesday's Village Board meeting, Mark Margason, a representative of an anti-ribbon group, said he and other members had no idea the issue would become a subject at the last meeting.

Margason told the board that it should enact an even tougher policy requiring those putting up memorial ribbons to fill out a form with the village beforehand. The form should seek information on who died and who is putting up the ribbons, he said.

Margason said the majority of residents do no want ribbons in their neighborhoods, considering them unsightly and viewing them as advertisements. The ribbons are often made up of "garbage bags and low-quality plastic," he said.

If the village government cannot identify who died, he said, the ribbons should be deemed a nuisance.

Village President Tom Cauley, however, said he preferred taking a softer approach.

"People are very sensitive about the ribbons when they put them up. Sometimes, they want them up for a certain amount of time. Usually there is a lot of emotion involved because someone has died. This is their way to memorialize them," Cauley said. "We're trying to walk the path between allowing people to mourn deceased residents the way they see fit and keeping our village looking nice."

Trustee Luke Stifflear said he agreed with many of Margason's thoughts, contending the ribbons can become a blight on "our beautiful village." He also said many of the ribbons are coming from the younger generation.

Trustee Matthew Posthuma said if the village made further changes to the policy, it should give the public adequate notice. That way, he said, residents on both sides of the issue can speak up.

The village is getting the word out about the policy. It was announced in the village's online newsletter last week. The village also plans to include information about the issue in April's water bills. Also, the police chief is speaking with local faith leaders about it, officials said.

Cauley said he had confidence Hinsdale residents would follow the policy once they are told about it.

"If this policy doesn't work, we'll revisit it," he said.

He apologized to Margason for not giving him notice of the previous meeting's discussion.

Last month, Cauley estimated he had received 600 emails from the group opposed to ribbons.