Daily Egyptian Politics Editor

The John Schmidt for Governor campaign is accusing Congressman Glenn Poshard’s campaign of removing Schmidt signs in the Southern Illinois area, but Poshard’s campaign says the charge is a time-worn political ploy.

However, state road crews could be removing signs improperly placed near highways.

Advertisement

Ken Snyder, Schmidt’s campaign manager, claims an organized group of Poshard supporters are removing Schmidt signs at an incredible rate.

But Dave Stricklin, Poshard’s campaign manager, scoffs at the allegation by his Democratic primary opponent’s campaign.

That is absolutely untrue, he said. Accusing a campaign of tampering with signs is the oldest game in the book.

Snyder said removal of his candidate’s signs is not limited to the 19th District, the heart of Poshard country.

In the Metro-East area of East St. Louis, signs literally are being taken down as soon as they are put up, he said.

Snyder recalled a recent story in which Schmidt toured an East St. Louis museum. He said Schmidt signs had been posted along the road near the museum, but when Schmidt left the museum 25 minutes later, the signs were gone.

Snyder accused the Poshard campaign of encouraging the sign removal, but Stricklin said his camp has a firm policy against it.

Advertisement*

We would encourage everyone from every campaign to respect the property of every other campaign, Stricklin said. Anyone from our campaign caught doing any damage to anyone’s signs will be immediately barred from our campaign.

Snyder also claimed that Poshard supporters had removed several signs in the Carbondale area, but the Illinois Department of Transportation, not Poshard’s people, may be removing signs that interfere with maintenance.

Bill Stout, District 9 operations engineer for IDOT, said state workers remove campaign signs found between state roads and nearby drainage ditches.

The problem is trying to mow and work around them, he said. It’s against the law for anyone but the Department of Transportation to post signs there.

Stout said enforcement of the policy is lax except when signs impede road maintenance. Regardless of party affiliation, signs between the roads and their ditches are removed immediately, and other signs are removed after the election.

It’s been a practice for the last several years, he said. We don’t destroy them. People can come pick them up.