Vote for Chicago's 2006 city vehicle sticker!

[Tannerman]

If you live within the city limits of Chicago, and own a car, you have to buy a vehicle sticker. It's a tax, of course. What isn't, these days? Chicago has a tradition of letting students submit artwork based on a preestablished theme for the stickers.

Frankly, they always look like crap.

I don't so much mind the tax as I mind the fact that I have to have this ugly piece of artwork stuck to my front windshield for an entire year. That's worse than a tax. The city has certain rules about the artwork... one of which is that electronic forms of art aren't allowed. So we're stuck with lameo students who draw with colored pencil and the like, thinking they have talent. Heck, if given the opportunity, I could have probably drawn better while in high school (I did get the senior class award for art... yeah, I was not only a techincal dork, but also a creative one!).

Anyway, the City Clerk's office has posted the 10 finalists online... and you can vote for them... via a lame "send us an e-mail" method. Good grief. 3rd largest city in the country and we can't even do online voting right. (Then again, this is Chicago... where we coined the phrase "vote early and vote often").

Here's a little background on the contest and the 10 designs.

Judges have narrowed more than 300 designs submitted for next year's Chicago city sticker to the 10 you'll see in the photo gallery attached to this page.

Now, it's your turn to pick the winner. Starting Monday, you may vote for your favorite design in person at City Hall, by phone at (312) 744-2506 or at www.chicityclerk.com.

High school students were asked to submit designs based on the theme "A City of Neighborhoods."

The winner will receive a $1,000 savings bond and the design will appear on 1.3 million car windshields next year. Second- and third-place contestants will receive $500 and $250 savings bonds, respectively. The contest is co-sponsored by the city clerk's office, the Chicago Office of Tourism/Department of Cultural Affairs and the Department of Planning and Development.

Here's the 10 finalists. Just for fun, vote above for the design you like best:

#1


#2


#3


#4


#5


#6


#7


#8


#9


#10

[AmySly]

Um, I just went up to the website to vote and it says that voting has ended! Did they just open up voting for a total of ONE DAY??? Or was Tannerman late in posting the story?

[Tannerman]

Originally Posted by AmySly

Um, I just went up to the website to vote and it says that voting has ended! Did they just open up voting for a total of ONE DAY??? Or was Tannerman late in posting the story?

Sun-Times had the story on Sunday, I believe. That's where I got the info from.

[Gonetotea]

These stickers sucketh exceedingly

I would expect more from the Chicago people

especially with the Art Institute there

yes I'm over critical

try living in a state with a Cow on its Quarter

[FernLaplante]

The stickers are designed by kids to young to drive, that's why they aren't very professional looking. I liked #9 b/c it was different from the rest.

[Tannerman]

Of these sticker designs, I like #4 the best. It seems pretty "clean" in layout and design.

[Gonetotea]

#9 messes with me

faceless children are scarey children

especially when the fill the streets in an organized way..

- shivers -

[TheProfessor101]

Originally Posted by Tannerman

Frankly, they always look like crap.

Having grown up in Chicago as a child I never liked the design of the city stickers. I wish they'd open it to professionals.

I guess that's why I moved to the 'burbs, no tax, no stickers. I just have to buy a sticker for my garbage instead!