For purposes of this article, the following words, as used herein, shall be considered to have the meanings herein ascribed thereto:
ADVERTISING MATERIALS
Includes all leaflets, flyers, cards, door tags, advertisers, advertising newspapers or other advertising or promotional materials offering or promoting the sale or purchase of goods, wares, merchandise, foodstuffs, insurance and/or services of any kind, character or description; or soliciting gifts or contributions of money, clothing or other valuable things for the support or benefit of any charitable or nonprofit association, organization, corporation or project; or selling or soliciting subscriptions to books, magazines, periodicals, newspapers or other type or kind of publication. Advertising materials shall not include books, magazines, periodicals, newspapers consisting of noncommercial speech, even though they may incidentally contain advertising or other commercial speech; religious or political tracts and pamphlets or election campaign literature; or telephone directories of classified listings of products and services, commonly known as "yellow pages."
[Added by Ord. No. 03-18-19A]
EXEMPT SOLICITOR
[Added by Ord. No. 03-18-19A]
A. 
A person age 17 and under, who is participating in fundraising programs for, or sponsored by a public or private elementary or high school or bona fide children's or youth organization including, without limitation, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts or youth sports.
B. 
A person engaged in soliciting or activities whose purpose is religious, political, civic, charitable, scientific, or educational and which neither directly nor indirectly relate to or involve in any fashion the seeking of funds or the sale and promotion of any goods or services, as more fully set forth in the definition of soliciting in this section. The City of Mendota City Clerk and/or Council will have final determination exempt solicitor status.
PERSON
Includes any individual, organization, group, association, firm, corporation, trust, or any combination thereof.
[Added by Ord. No. 03-18-19A]
REGISTERED SOLICITOR
Includes any person who has obtained a valid certificate of registration as hereinafter provided, which certificate is in the possession of the solicitor on his or her person while engaged in soliciting.
RESIDENCE
Includes every separate living unit occupied for residential purposes by one or more persons, contained within any type of building or structure.
SOLICITING
Includes any one or more of the following activities conducted on any part of residential property regardless of the method used, including the leaving or placing of advertising materials anywhere thereon, including the parkway between the sidewalk and road or street thereof:
[Amended by Ord. No. 03-18-19A]
A. 
Seeking to obtain order for the purchase of goods, wares, merchandise, foodstuffs, services of any kind, character or description whatever, for any kind of consideration;
B. 
Seeking to obtain prospective customers for application or purchase of insurance of any type, kind or character;
C. 
Seeking to obtain gifts or contributions of money, clothing or any other valuable thing for the support or benefit of any charitable or nonprofit association, organization, corporation or project;
D. 
Seeking to obtain subscriptions to books, magazines, periodicals, newspapers and every other type or kind of publication; or
E. 
Going upon any premises and ringing the door bell, knocking, upon or near any door, or creating any sound in any manner that is calculated to attract the attention of an occupant or owner for the purpose of engaging in any of the activities described above in this definition of solicitation.
SOLICITOR
Includes any person who engages in soliciting as defined herein except an exempt solicitor.
[Added by Ord. No. 03-18-19A]
[Amended by Ord. No. 03-18-19A]
As a condition of engaging in any act of soliciting within the corporate limits of the City of Mendota, every solicitor as defined herein, except an exempt solicitor, shall apply for and possess a valid certificate of registration. Said certificate of registration will be issued along with a photo id and lanyard which shall be worn on the front of his or her person, uncovered by any article of clothing, so as to be fully visible at all times to any onlooker. An exempt solicitor may not be required to apply for, possess, carry, or display a certificate of registration and photo id.
[Amended by Ord. No. 03-18-19A]
Application for a certificate of registration shall be made upon a form provided by the City Clerk or his/her designee, of this municipality and filed with such Clerk or his/her designee.
A. 
The applicant shall truthfully state the following information:
(1) 
The applicant's name and address;
(2) 
The applicant's date of birth, phone number and email address;
(3) 
The name, address and phone number of the person or association by whom the applicant is employed or represents;
(4) 
Description of the subject matter of the soliciting;
(5) 
Period of time for which the certificate is applied for;
(6) 
The date, or approximate date, of the latest previous application for a certificate under this article;
(7) 
Prior revocation of any certificate of registration issued to the applicant under this article;
(8) 
Whether the applicant has ever been convicted of a violation of any of the provisions of this article, or any provision of any ordinance of any other city or village in Illinois regulating soliciting, and if the applicant has been convicted of any violation, the applicant shall state the details of the violation in full;
(9) 
Whether the applicant has been convicted of a felony or class A misdemeanor within the last five years, and if the applicant has been convicted, the applicant shall state the details of the conviction in full;
(10) 
Whether the applicant is a registered sex offender.
B. 
All statements made by the applicant upon the application or in connection therewith shall be under oath.
C. 
A nonrefundable application fee of $25 shall accompany any and all submitted applications.
D. 
Upon acceptance of the application, the City Clerk shall engage the Mendota Police Department to complete a thorough background investigation. The owner(s) or applicant(s) shall submit his/her fingerprints to be used in completing the investigation. Owner(s)/applicant(s) are required to present themselves for fingerprints to be taken by the police department. A photograph of the person submitting the application shall be taken at the same time. The photograph will be used to create the photo id to be worn by the applicant and will become part of the application.
The City Clerk shall cause to be kept in his office an accurate record of every application received and acted upon, together with all other information and data pertaining thereto and all certificates of registration issued under the provisions of this article, and of the denial of applications. Applications for certificates shall be numbered in consecutive order as filed, and every certificate issued, and any renewal thereof, shall be identified with the duplicate number of the application upon which it was issued.
[Amended by Ord. No. 03-18-19A]
Upon receipt of the application required by this article, there will be an investigation of the applicant's business and moral character and criminal history.
A. 
If the investigation reveals the character and business responsibility of the applicant to be satisfactory and the Chief of Police so notes on the application, the City Clerk shall, upon payment of the prescribed license fee, deliver to the applicant the certificate of registration for which he applied.
B. 
Upon review of the application, the Chief of Police may refuse to issue a certificate of registration to the applicant under this article for any of the following reasons:
(1) 
An investigation reveals that the applicant falsified information on the application;
(2) 
The applicant has a prior revocation or suspension of a solicitor's certificate of registration, or a conviction of a violation of any city/village, state or federal law regarding soliciting or a related field;
(3) 
The applicant has been convicted of a felony or class A misdemeanor, the nature of which is related to the applicant's fitness to engage in door-to-door activities under this article. The applicant shall be of good character and reputation without a conviction related to fraud, dishonesty, deceit, misrepresentation, sexual misconduct, trafficking in controlled substances, violent acts against persons or property, or an offense involving moral turpitude.
(4) 
In reviewing fitness under Subsection B(3) of this section, the following shall be considered:
(a) 
The extent and nature of the applicant's past criminal history;
(b) 
The age of the applicant at the time of the commission of the crime;
(c) 
The amount of time that has elapsed since the applicant's last criminal activity;
(d) 
The conduct and work activity of the applicant prior to and following the criminal activity;
(e) 
Evidence of the applicant's rehabilitation or rehabilitative effort while incarcerated or following release; and
(f) 
Other evidence of the applicant's present fitness.
C. 
Each certificate of registration shall be valid only for the period of time set forth thereon.
D. 
Any certificate of registration issued hereunder shall be revoked by the City Clerk or his/her designee or the Chief of Police or his/her designee if the holder of the certificate is convicted of a violation of any of the provisions of this article, or has made a false statement in the application, or otherwise has been disqualified for the issuance of a certificate of registration under the terms of this article.
[Amended by Ord. No. 08-21-23A]
E. 
Any certificate of registration issued hereunder shall be revoked by the City Clerk or his/her designee or the Chief of Police or his/her designee if the holder of the certificate receives three or more substantiated complaints.
[Added by Ord. No. 08-21-23A]
F. 
Immediately upon such verbal revocation, a written notice thereof shall be given by the Chief of Police or his/her designee to the holder of the certificate in person or by United States mail addressed to the address set forth in the application. Immediately upon the mailing or serving of such notice, the certificate of registration shall become null and void.
[Added by Ord. No. 08-21-23A]
G. 
Registration fees may be prorated upon revocation if the term of registration is more than one day. Solicitors registered for one day will not receive any refund if the license is revoked.
[Added by Ord. No. 08-21-23A]
Every person desiring to secure the protection provided by the regulations pertaining to soliciting contained in this article shall comply with the following directions: Notice of the determination by the occupant of giving invitation to solicitors, or the refusal of invitation to solicitors, to any residence or business establishment, shall be given in the following manner:
A. 
A weatherproof card, approximately three inches by four inches in size, shall be exhibited upon or near the main entrance door to the residence or business establishment, indicating the determination by the occupant containing the applicable words, as follows: "ONLY SOLICITORS REGISTERED IN MENDOTA INVITED" or "NO SOLICITORS INVITED."
B. 
The letters shall be at least 1/3 inch in height for the purpose of uniformity.
[Amended by Ord. No. 04-06-15A]
C. 
Such card so exhibited shall constitute sufficient notice to any solicitor of the determination by the occupant of the residence or business establishment of the information contained thereon.
A. 
It shall be the duty of every solicitor, upon going unto any premises in the municipality upon which a residence or business establishment as herein defined is located, to first examine the notice provided for in this article, if any is attached, and be governed by the statement contained on any notice. If the notice states "only solicitors registered in Mendota invited," then the solicitors not possessing a valid certificate of registration as herein provided shall immediately and peacefully depart from the premises, and if the notice states "no solicitors invited," then the solicitor, whether registered or not, shall immediately and peacefully depart from the premises.
B. 
Any solicitor who has gained entrance to any residence or business establishment, whether invited or not, shall immediately and peacefully depart from the premises when requested to do so by the occupant.
A. 
It is hereby declared to be unlawful and shall constitute a nuisance for any person to go upon any premises and ring the doorbell upon or near any door, or create any sound in any manner calculated to attract the attention of the occupant of such residence or business establishment, for the purpose of securing an audience with the occupant thereof and engage in soliciting as herein defined, in defiance of the notice exhibited at the residence or business establishment in accordance with the provisions of § 221-14 of this article.
B. 
It is hereby declared to be unlawful and shall constitute a nuisance for any person, whether registered under this article or not, to go upon any premises and ring the doorbell upon or near any door of a residence located thereon, or rap or knock upon any door or create any sound in any other manner calculated to attract the attention of the occupant of such residence or business establishment, for the purpose of securing an audience with the occupant thereof and engage in soliciting as herein defined, prior to 9:30 a.m. or after 5:00 p.m. during the daylight savings time months (November through April) or prior to 9:30 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m. during the months of May through October of any weekday or at any time on a Sunday or on a state or national holiday.
[Amended by Ord. No. 12-20-99]
No certificate of registration shall be issued to any applicant without the consent of the City Council of the City of Mendota, which consent shall be given by a majority vote of the Aldermen present at a regular or duly called special meeting of said Council.
[Added by Ord. No. 03-18-19A]
In addition to the provisions contained herein regarding license revocation, the violation of any provision of this article shall result in a fine of not less than $250 and not more than $750. Each act of soliciting in violation of this article, including each act of leaving advertising materials in a manner prohibited by this article, or entering upon any premises and ringing the door bell, knocking upon or near any door, or creating any sound in any manner to attract the attention of an occupant or owner in violation of this article, shall constitute a separate offense. All persons who enter upon any premises for the purpose of soliciting in violation of this article, or who publish or distribute in any advertising materials left on any premises in violation of this article or offer goods, products, merchandise, services, insurance or subscriptions or solicit gifts, contributions, or donations in such advertising materials shall be jointly and severally liable for such offense, whether they knew of or intended such offense.