Jim Hendry speaks with the press after being fired by the Chicago Cubs. (CBS)
UPDATED 08/26/11 8:02 a.m.
PARK RIDGE, Ill. (CBS) First he lost his job and now he might lose his street.
Park Ridge officials want the Illinois Department of Transportation to remove the honorary “Jim Hendry Way” sign on Northwest Highway, according to TribLocal.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Steve Miller reports
The sign was originally approved in 2009 by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, an avid Cubs fan, but Park Ridge Mayor Dave Schmidt backs the request to have it taken down saying they didn’t want it put up to begin with.
“It’s just our policy,” Schmidt said in the report. “We don’t want to end up like Chicago with an Honorary Joe Blow Street sign on every corner.”
Howard Frimark, who was mayor in 2009, didn’t want the sign and said Blagojevich was just trying to curry favor with voters by having the sign put up in Hendry’s hometown. Schmidt told WBBM Newsradio’s Steve Miller that it’s time to remove the sign once and for all.
“We’d be happy take it down and give it to Mr. Hendry,” or, “I can always plant a giant oak tree in front of it, maybe.”
The Illinois Department of Transportation says once the City of Park Ridge makes a formal request, it will be taken under review.
Hendry was fired as the Cubs’ general manager last week.
