Sick of solicitors? Here’s what Belleville may do to discourage the door knocking
The city of Belleville is poised to raise the permit fee for solicitors from $100 to $300 a year.
Residents have complained that more and more people seem to be knocking on doors to sell solar-energy systems, pest-control services and other products, according to Phil Elmore, alderman for Ward 7.
“Some of them are quite pushy as well,” he said. “They tend not to take ‘no’ for an answer.”
Several residents have posted Ring camera photos of solicitors on the Ward 7 Facebook page, either warning residents about bad ones or alleviating fears about good ones.
“This guy has come by three times today,” resident Lindsey Gallaher wrote on Thursday of a young man ringing her doorbell. “It’s a bit excessive I think. Anyone else?”
Under the applicable Belleville ordinance, solicitors are required to obtain permits and display them on lanyards around their necks, but some ignore the law, Elmore said.
The long-standing permit fee of $100 a year would have gone to $200 under a 2024-25 fee schedule on the City Council’s agenda last week. Elmore proposed amending the ordinance to raise it from $100 to $300.
Now the Ordinance and Legal Review Committee will consider the change then send it back to the full council for a vote.
“I hope it discourages solicitation,” Elmore said. “They need to find another way to do business.”
The U.S. Supreme Court has stuck down local laws prohibiting people from knocking on doors for religious, political, charitable or commercial purposes, citing the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech.
But the court has recognized a “municipality’s power to protect citizens from crime and undue annoyance by regulating soliciting and canvassing.”
Belleville officials encourage residents who don’t want people knocking on their doors to post “no soliciting” signs. If those signs are posted, police can issue tickets to solicitors.
“If residents don’t have that sign on their door, the police department can’t do anything,” Elmore said. “If residents don’t call the police, the police department can’t do anything. Police don’t drive around looking for solicitors.”
Under Illinois law, solicitation is allowed until 9 p.m., according to Elmore. He noted that some residents, particularly senior citizens, feel uncomfortable having people knock on their doors after dark.
“This isn’t the 1970s,” he said.
