Arlington Heights police yesterday released an information flyer on solicitors at resident’s doors. The flyer also provided information about solicitors (non-profit only) at intersections.
Notice that solicitors are not permitted to ring your doorbell or knock on your door, if there is a “no solicitor” notice on your front door. Many solicitors disregard these notices. Solicitors often claim they aren’t selling anything to try to get around the law.
Following is a copy of the text of the flyer …
SOLICITORS AT YOUR DOOR?
What you need to know:
WHAT CAN A RESIDENT DO?
• Post a weatherproof card (recommended minimum 3” x 4”) on or near the main entrance door to the residence or business containing the words: NO SOLICITORS OR PEDDLERS. The letters on the card should be reasonably visible.
• A card posted at a residence is sufficient notice to the solicitor.
• It is the solicitor’s responsibility, whether registered or not, to look for the notice and immediately leave if posted.
• You may have to point out the posted card and ask the solicitor to leave.
• If the solicitor refuses to leave – CALL 911
• Be prepared to provide the police the solicitor’s description, vehicle information and their last direction of travel.
• If you allow solicitors and peddlers on your property you can request to see their Permit ID provided by the Building Department.
Arlington Heights Building Department –Issues Solicitor/Peddler Permits
Peddlers and solicitors are required to obtain permits for door to door soliciting, peddling, soliciting at intersections and site sales. Soliciting at intersections is only permitted for Not for Profit groups. The following requirements and limitations apply:
• PERMIT REQUIRED – no charge
• Solicitation and tag days at intersections shall be limited to two consecutive days.
• No soliciting or peddling shall be permitted before the hours of 9:00 A.M. or after the hour of 9:00 P.M. within the Village, and no peddling or soliciting shall be conducted on Sundays.
• It shall be unlawful for any peddler or solicitor to engage in any form of solicitation other than those specified in the permit application.
• Individuals canvassing a neighborhood distributing political or religious information are not required to apply for a permit.
TRAFFIC RELATED REQUIREMENTS:
• Solicitation shall only occur at intersections where all traffic is required to come to a full stop.
• Individuals soliciting upon streets or highways shall be at least 16 years of age and shall wear a high visibility vest.
REMEMBER: Solicitors meeting all the Village of Arlington Heights requirements may still try to victimize citizens. Criminals may pretend to be a solicitor as a diversion or ruse in an attempt to get into a home. Don’t open your door if you are unsure and NEVER let anyone into your home unless you scheduled an appointment.
In addition to the flyer provided by the Arlington Heights police, there is also additional information available as a PDF file from the text of the Arlington Heights Village Code available at ARLINGTON HEIGHTS MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTER 12 on the Village of Arlington Heights official website.
MORE INFORMATION ALSO AVAILABLE ON VILLAGE CODE ON VILLAGE WEBSITE
Following is the text of the Village Code regarding Peddlers and Solicitors Chapter 12 Article X ( Section 12-1001) available on the Village of Arlington Heights official website. See also vah.com/village_info/village_code.aspx … (look for ‘view all’ link to see all Chapter).
Article X Peddlers and Solicitors
Section 12-1001 Definitions. For the purposes of this Article, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this Section:
a. Charitable Purpose. Any charitable, benevolent, philanthropic, patriotic, or eleemosynary purpose.
b. Charitable Organization. Any benevolent, philanthropic, patriotic, not-for-profit, or eleemosynary group, association or corporation, or such organization purporting to be such, which solicits and collects funds for charitable purposes.
REVISED 10/05/09
MERCHANTS
c. Contribution. The promise or grant of any money or property of any kind of value, including payment for literature in excess of the fair market value of the literature.
d. Peddler. Any person who, going from place to place, shall at retail sell, offer for sale, sell and deliver, barter or exchange any goods, wares, merchandise, wood, oil, fish, fruits, vegetables, country produce or any other article or thing whatsoever or any service from a vehicle or otherwise. It shall not include a serviceman who, responding to a prior call, sells replacement merchandise.
e. Solicitor. Any person who, going from place to place, without prior appointment or pre- arrangement with the customer, shall take orders for future delivery at retail of any merchandise or other article or thing, or any service or any person who solicits and collects funds for charitable purposes.
(Ord. #98-001) Section 12-1002 Permit Required. No person shall engage in the business of a peddler or solicitor within the Village without first having obtained a permit; provided, however, that the classes of peddlers engaging in businesses specifically defined and licensed by other provisions of this Code shall be exempt from the provisions of this Article and must be licensed in accordance with those applicable provisions of this Code. Solicitation and tag days shall be limited to two successive days.
Section12-1003Application. NooneshallpeddleorsolicitfrompersonsintheVillagebydoor- to-door solicitation or the use of public streets and public ways without first obtaining a permit. Application for a permit shall be made to the Department of Building and shall include the following information:
a. The name of the organization, partnership, corporation or proprietorship for whom the applicant works, and the name under which it intends to solicit;
b. The name, address, and social security number of the person in charge of solicitation in the Village, a telephone number of the parent firm or corporation, and an address within Cook County where service of process may be had;
c. The names, permanent addresses, birthdates and social security numbers of all persons who will solicit in the Village;
d. The dates and times of day such solicitations are to be made and the geographic area within the Village where such solicitation shall be conducted at a particular time and day;
e. The number of vehicles, if any, intended to be operated and the kind of merchandise, if any, to be peddled or offered for order;
f. If applicable, a written statement of recent date by the Attorney General of Illinois that the organization has complied with the provisions of “An Act to Regulate Solicitation and Collection of Funds for Charitable Purposes”, 225 ILCS 460/1 et seq. as now or hereafter amended, if the organization is subject to the statute. A statement by the Attorney General of exemption under 225 ILCS 460/5 is required for religious organizations.
(Ord. #96-053)
Section 12-1004 Administrative Procedures for Application for Permit.
REVISED 01/20/98
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a. All applications shall be submitted to the Building and shall be verified under oath by a responsible officer of the soliciting organization.
The failure of an applicant to fulfill the requirements of this Article shall be the sole basis for a denial of the permit. In the event that any permit is denied for failure to comply with the requirements of this Article, the applicant shall immediately be notified of the reasons for denial.
b. No permit shall be valid for more than 90 days within any 365 days from the first date of solicitation.
Section 12-1005 Solicitation Upon the Public Streets.
a. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to solicit, either in person or by agent, upon the public streets, sidewalks or any other public place in the Village without having first secured a permit.
b. A person, firm, or corporation may be issued a permit to stand upon streets or highways within the Village for purposes of soliciting from the occupants of vehicles; provided, that the solicitors shall comply with the following requirements:
1. Solicitation shall occur only at intersections where all traffic is required to come to a full stop;
2. Solicitation shall occur at highway intersections only during hours of daylight – from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset;
3. Persons engaged in solicitation upon streets or highways shall be at least 16 years of age and shall wear a high visibility vest; and
4. The soliciting agency shall provide evidence of a policy of comprehensive general liability insurance in a form and amount satisfactory to the Village Manager prior to the solicitation and shall be liable for any injuries to any person or property occurring during any solicitation activity which is causally related to an act of ordinary negligence of the soliciting agency.
Section 12-1006 Fraud. It shall be unlawful for any peddler or solicitor to cheat, deceive or fraudulently misrepresent, whether through himself or herself or through an employee, while acting as a peddler or solicitor in the Village, or to barter, sell or peddle any goods, merchandise or wares or to engage in any form of solicitation other than those specified in the application for a permit.
Section 12-1007 Hours of Operation. No soliciting or peddling shall be permitted before the hours of 9:00 A.M. or after the hour of 9:00 P.M. within the Village, and no peddling or soliciting shall be conducted on Sundays.
Section 12-1008 Conducting Business.
a. No peddler or solicitor may park on public property in a given place for longer than one-half hour at the time of the last sale or solicitation of an order at that place, and after the …
REVISED 08/19/96
MERCHANTS
… expiration of one-half hour, he or she must move on to a different location which is at least one Village block away.
b. Each solicitor of a contribution for a charitable purpose shall distribute, upon request by the party solicited, a financial statement of the organization for the preceding 12 months which shall include a balance sheet and statement of income and expenses clearly setting forth the following: gross receipts and gross income from all sources broken down into total receipts and income from each separate solicitation project or source; cost of administration; cost of solicitation; cost of programs designed to inform or educate the public; funds or properties transferred out of the State of Illinois, with explanation as to recipient and purpose; total net income amount for each major purpose, charitable or otherwise. The statement shall be signed by the President or other authorized officer and shall be accompanied by an opinion signed by an independent certified public accountant that the financial statement fairly represents the financial operation of the organization in sufficient detail to permit public evaluation of its operations.
A copy of the annual report to the Attorney General required by 225 ILCS 460/4 may be presented in lieu of such financial statements. For the purposes of financial statements, the definitions and standards applicable to the annual report to the Attorney General may be utilized. In the event an organization has not been established for a period of 12 months, a copy of the registration statement filed with the Attorney General may be utilized.
Section 12-1009 Food Peddlers. Peddlers of food shall comply with the application regulations of Chapter 11 of this Code relating to food dealers as therein defined.
Section 12-1010 Notice Regulating Soliciting and Peddling. Notice of the determination of the occupant’s refusal of invitation to any solicitors or peddlers shall be given in the following manner:
A weatherproof card, at least three inches by four inches in size, shall be exhibited upon or near the main entrance door to the residence containing words such as those set forth below:
NO SOLICITORS OR PEDDLERS
The letters shall be at least one-third inch in height. Cards are available from the Village Clerk’s office at cost. A card exhibited at a residence shall constitute sufficient notice to any solicitor or peddler of the occupant’s refusal to allow solicitors or peddlers.
Section 12-1011 Duty of Solicitors or Peddlers. It shall be the duty of every solicitor or peddler, upon going onto any premises in the Village upon which a residence is located, to look for the notice provided for in this Article, if any is attached, to obey the statement contained on the notice. If the notice contains words such as “NO SOLICITORS OR PEDDLERS”, then the solicitor or peddler, whether registered or not, shall immediately and peacefully depart from the premises. Any solicitor or peddler who has gained entrance to any residence, whether invited or not, shall immediately and peacefully depart from the premises when requested to do so by the occupant.
Section 12-1012 Convicted Felons as Solicitors. It shall be unlawful for any organization to utilize as a solicitor any person who has been convicted of a forcible felony within a period of five years prior to the date of solicitation or who, having been convicted of a forcible felony, has been
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released from a penal institution for a period of less than three years prior to the date of proposed solicitation. For the purposes of this Section, a “forcible felony” means treason, murder, voluntary manslaughter, aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal assault, robbery, burglary, arson, kidnapping, aggravated battery and any other felony which involves the use or threat of physical force or violence against any individual.
Section 12-1013 Revocation. Any permit may be revoked by the Village Manager because of any violation of this Article or any other ordinance of the Village, or any State or Federal law, or if any solicitor is the subject of outstanding arrest warrants, or whenever the registrant shall cease to possess the qualifications and character required in this Article for the original registration.
Section 12-1014 Penalty. Any person, firm or corporation violating the provisions of this Article shall be fined not more than $750 for each such offense.