Joliet Police Crack Down On Door-To-Door Solicitors

JOLIET, IL - Joliet residents who are sick and tired of being bugged by pushy door-to-door salesmen have an advocate on their side. The Joliet Police Department is encouraging people to visit Joliet's website to download a "Solicitors Prohibited" sign. Residents are asked to post the sign somewhere prominently near your front door.

The sign in black, bold letters aims send a loud and clear warning to people who are pedaling sales products or services to stay away from your property - or risk being cited and fined by Joliet police. And now that summer is here, door-to-door business canvassers are on the rise, and that's been troublesome for Joliet's Police Department.

"We are receiving complaints about aggressive door-to-door soliciting," the Joliet Police Department posted on its Facebook page. "In the City of Joliet, solicitors are required to follow a set of ordinances."

Joliet's website offers a detailed synopsis of its soliciting ordinance, which prohibits all soliciting between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. and at no time on Sundays.

Joliet's Facebook message drew a flood of social media comments from local residents who have been bothered by solicitors as of late.

One woman commented, "I have a sign by my front door and they still come and knock on my door. I had 2 different pest control guys ring my doorbell on the same day with the same company at different times."

"If that happens again, call us," the Joliet Police Department responded to her Facebook post.

Another woman posted a Facebook comment indicating she's been bombarded with a ton of late night neighborhood solicitors, including a roofing company that stopped by earlier this week.

"We had one at 8:30 p.m. ... while we were having dinner," she posted on Joliet's Facebook page. "I told him that we aren't interested. This guy was at our door a week before. It's more of a nuisance at this point. Thank you JPD. Hopefully, they will stop coming in so late and often."

Image via City of Joliet