NEW ORDINANCE REGARDING SOLICITORS
9/10/2024
The city council approved Ordinance #04-2024 - ORDINANCE CREATING 2-3 OF THE ATHENS CITY CODE "SOLICITORS", September 9, 2024.
The Ordinance pertains to persons going door to door and soliciting. Please review the following information about our solicitation guidelines and some suggestions for interacting with solicitors.
Solicitors within the city limits of Athens must apply for and be approved for a permit to solicit. They must adhere to the following guidelines:
- No soliciting before 9:00 am or after 5:00 pm Monday-Friday
- No soliciting on Saturdays or Sundays
- Must display their permit while soliciting
- Solicitors are to respect our residents by being courteous
If a solicitor does not display and cannot produce a permit, they may not be licensed to soliciting within the City of Athens and may be reported to the Athens Police Department by calling 217-636-8429.
Tips
- Pushy, rude, or aggressive solicitors - The City of Athens does not directly regulate the demeanor of individual solicitors. Remember, however, that as a homeowner or occupant, you may ask a solicitor to leave your property at any time. Every resident has the right to feel secure in their home, should you feel threatened or unsafe based upon a solicitor's behavior, contact the Police immediately by calling 911. We encourage residents having complaints about aggressive or deceptive practices of a business to file a consumer complaint with the Illinois Attorney General's Office at 800-243-0618.
- Alternative Energy Suppliers (Aggregation Solicitors) - The City of Athens will not send our aggregation company door-to-door to register residents for the supply of alternate energy. The City encourages residents who wish to sign up with their own energy provider to initiate first contact with the provider after comparing all rates and options. When shopping energy suppliers, visit the Illinois Commerce Commission's complaint scorecard, which tracks and compares the rate of complaints against retail electric suppliers and energy providers Complaints for pushy, rude, or aggressive aggregation solicitors can contact the Illinois Commerce Commission Consumer Services Division by phone at 800-524-0795.
- Guarding your personal information - Never provide a solicitor with utility account information unless you intend to enroll in an alternate energy program of your choosing. Never provide a solicitor with any personal information such as driver's license number, social security number, or bank account information unless you intend to purchase what they are selling.
How to Prevent Solicitors At Your Home
Prominently display a no soliciting notice on or near the main entrance by way of a sign. A "No Soliciting" sign can be printed off by clicking the link below.
Never be afraid to exercise boundaries with solicitors by refusing to answer the door or by politely stating "no thank you" or "not interested" and shutting and locking your door. The First Amendment and the U.S. Constitution do protect the rights of door-to-door solicitors and preclude the ability of a community to ban door-to-door sales. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld free speech for commercial purposes and the Town's ability to restrict commercial door-to-door solicitation is limited to local regulations restricting the time, place, and manner of door-to-door solicitations. Homeowners and occupants, however, do have the ultimate right to determine whether solicitors shall or shall not be invited to their residences or property.
You may read the entire ordinance by clicking the attached link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jeRnLRzkYe4nAy2Y_2y5rSH0uBUgzhti/view?usp=sharing
No Soliciting Sign - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uL0KsoGXtAyrgzMDPV69XHcHOHwgX57g/view?usp=sharing