Illinois Village Turns Its Back on Smiley Face

The “Village With A Smile” isn’t anymore.

Gone are the yellow, empty-eyed smiley faces that stared oncoming motorists in the face as they drove through this suburb west of Chicago.

Some residents and city officials thought the symbol of happiness--an image from the 1970s--was behind the times.

“It was just a little out of fashion,” said resident Donna Danielson. “Sometimes people would make fun--like co-workers.”

So she and her husband, Dan, offered to redesign the village’s vehicle stickers and city limit signs. The new city symbol is now a leafy branch with a cardinal perched on top.

“You just can’t say anymore ‘Hey, don’t worry about it--smile,”’ said Danielson, an advertisement designer in Chicago. “I think there is a lot more depth to Forest Park than a smiley face.”

Smiley faces also have been falling from fashion graces outside Forest Park. A survey conducted last year by the Roper Organization at 10 U.S. college campuses found the “Have-a-nice-day” face was a fashion no-no.

The loss of the smiles has been greeted with some frowns in Forest Park.

“They’ve changed the smiley. Never if I was there would that ever happen,” said Edward Lambke, who headed the effort to adopt the smiley face while serving as a village commissioner. “I just thought it was unique.”

Forest Park has not entirely abandoned the smiley face, however. No one has dared contend with the giant saffron smiles on the water towers.