Chicago official to propose ordinance allowing for removal of Trump Tower sign

Chicago alderman Gilbert Villegas wants to introduce an ordinance that would remove the 20-foot-tall Trump Tower sign in the city. 

If someone is found guilty of treason, sedition or subversive activities, his or her permit will be either denied or revoked in Chicago under the proposed ordinance, NBC Chicago reported. 

“The skyline has a stain on it and we want to remove that,” Villegas told NBC Chicago.

He has also proposed an ordinance that would prohibit anyone convicted of treason, sedition or subversive activities from doing business in Chicago. 

Villegas told The Hill in an interview that he will introduce the ordinance at the next city council meeting, which should occur at the end of the month. A vote on it would occur in either February or March. 

Villegas said there are “positions on both sides,” but he sees more support for the sign to be taken down, “probably to the tune of 70 percent to 30 percent.”

President Trump would have to be impeached and convicted for the proposed ordinances to apply to the Trump Tower sign. Trump was impeached Wednesday with all Democrats and 10 Republicans in the House voting against him on the charge of “incitement of insurrection.”

The Trump Tower sign permit is renewed annually and would not be renewed if Trump is found guilty by the Senate.

“I’m a Marine and I served through Desert Storm and I took an oath to protect this country against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and that oath does not have an expiration date,” Villegas said. “I no longer have my M16, but I have the power of the pen and so I will defend it in that matter instead.”

The building’s architect, Adrian Smith, disagreed with putting the sign up back in 2014, saying it was done “in poor taste,” but now she sees “its role as a Chicago Landmark” and does not think it should be taken down.

—Updated Friday at 5:03 p.m.