Journal Editor

While Des Plaines officials in 2003 were happy to charge a few thousand dollars per year to allow a politically-connected company the authority to erect 10 billboards along local tollways, the Village of Rosemont years ago found a more lucrative way of making money on the large outdoor signs.

Sensing that 80 to 99-ft. tall billboards along the intersecting maze of tollways near O'Hare Airport will attract plenty of eager advertisers with deep pockets, Rosemont in 1991 embarked on a program of beating the billboard companies at their own game. At that time, the Village either purchased or already owned land where seven billboards today stand next to the Tri-State and Northwest tollways. The village then erected seven outdoor signs, two of which are two-sided. To solicit advertising, media giant Viacom was hired to contact national advertisers and maintain the signs.

The result: Rosemont generates an annual profit of $1.44 million after paying media giant Viacom for its services. Over seven years, Rosemont's profit amounts to more than $10 million.

In contrast, an agreement Des Plaines inked with Premere Outdoor, Inc. in May of 2003 calls for the sign company to pay the city $25,000 annually for three years to fund the community's fireworks display; a $3,000 per sign annual inspection fee; a one-time $500 per billboard permit fee; and a one-time $15,000 per billboard licensing fee.

"Des Plaines and Mt. Prospect should do this," said Rosemont attorney Bob Stephenson. "Des Plaines has a huge potential source of revenue."

While Rosemont acted early to secure property where outdoor advertising signs would likely be located, it's questionable whether any of the 10 sign locations in Des Plaines that Premere has secured the rights to will be situated on property owned by Des Plaines. Four of the signs may be located on property owned or leased by Mt. Prospect and Des Plaines park districts. If signs are located there, the park districts could be paid as much as $50,000 per year per sign by the billboard company. Premere has proposed erecting one sign at the Des Plaines Park District's Seminole Park next to the Northwest Tollway for a price of about $50,000 annually for 20 years. The same company has presented a similar offer to the Mt. Prospect Park Dist. for signs along the Northwest Tollway at Metro-Majewski Park. However, the park district has balked at the proposal because it does not own the land. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation Dist. of Greater Chicago leases that property to the park district. Des Plaines aldermen two weeks ago pulled from their regular meeting agenda a proposal to rezone property at Seminole Park to allow a sign there. It's likely that the other signs Premere will build in Des Plaines will be placed on privately-owned property.

Stephenson told the Journal last week that even if the park districts are paid $50,000 per year per sign, that sum of money it is still a small amount compared to what could be made.

Des Plaines resident Marty Moylan, a former City of Des Plaines manager of building inspections, told city officials last week that Des Plaines should have sought competitive bids from billboard companies before approving the installation of the outdoor signs by Premere Outdoor, Inc. In doing so, he said, the city could have generated a lot of money.

Aldermen in May of 2003 approved by a 5 to 3 vote granting Premere Outdoor, Inc. the right to erect the billboards. Voting against the proposal were aldermen Pat Beauvais (1st), Tom Christiansen (2d) and Carla Brookman (5th). Council members gave their approval without knowing specific sites where the large signs would be located.

City officials recently learned that James Dvorak, a convicted felon, is a shareholder and as of late last year an officer of Premere. Dvorak is a close friend of former acting city manager, Economic Development Director and Community Development Director Bill Schneider, who resigned his city position earlier this year after it was learned that he, too, is a convicted felon.

Not long after Premere obtained the rights to erect as many as 10 billboards, it sold the rights to five of those signs to Lamar Outdoor Advertising. It's believed that Premere is in the process of selling the rights to the other five signs to media giant Viacom. How much Lamar paid for the billboard rights is unknown.

According to City Attorney Dave Wiltse, either Premere Outdoor or Lamar Advertising has applied to erect five of the 10 billboards. Four of those applications have been approved with three of the signs having been built.

Wiltse has said that the sale or transferring of billboard rights is not permitted by the city without prior written permission which Premere is not believed to have obtained. What action, if any, the city will take has yet to be determined. Wiltse said he will submit a report to the City Council in October detailing his investigation into the billboard matter including a recommendation concerning Premere's sale of billboard rights to Lamar.