Senator Seeks To Keep Pols' Names Off State Signs
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) -- While tollway signs touting disgraced ex-Governor Rod Blagojevich came down two years ago, there's a push to outlaw such public promotion in the first place.
It's already illegal for state officials or lawmakers to use their name, voice or image in state-funded commercials. State Sen. Matt Murphy (R-Palatine) is pushing to expand the ban to billboards and electronic message boards.
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Murphy said that taxpayers found it offensive that Blagojevich's name adorned 32 tollway signs at a cost of $15,000 each.
In one of his first acts as governor after Blagojevich was removed from office, Gov. Pat Quinn removed his disgraced predecessor's moniker from tollway signs and other billboards and signage throughout the state.
Meanwhile, the name of another convicted governor - George Ryan - remains chiseled on cornerstone of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield.
Murphy said he would support removing Ryan's name from there, but it would not be covered in the bill as it currently exists in the legislature.
