Graffiti Blasters is a program to eliminate graffiti

Graffiti

Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....

, street art

Street art

Street art is any art developed in public spaces — that is, "in the streets" — though the term usually refers to unsanctioned art, as opposed to government sponsored initiatives...

 and gang

Gang

A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...

-related vandalism

Vandalism

Vandalism is the behaviour attributed originally to the Vandals, by the Romans, in respect of culture: ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable...

 in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. The program is structured as a privately owned business based in the city government. It uses soluble abrasives (baking soda combined with high pressure water) and paints matching the city's official color scheme

Color scheme

In color theory, a color scheme is the choice of colors used in design for a range of media. For example, the use of a white background with black text is an example of a basic and commonly default color scheme in web design....

 to erase all varieties of graffiti.

History

Mayor

Mayor of Chicago

The Mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of Chicago, Illinois, the third largest city in the United States. He or she is charged with directing city departments and agencies, and with the advice and consent of the Chicago City Council, appoints department and agency leaders.-Appointment...

 Richard M. Daley

Richard M. Daley

Richard Michael Daley is a United States politician, member of the national and local Democratic Party, and former Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. He was elected mayor in 1989 and reelected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. He was the longest serving Chicago mayor, surpassing the tenure of his...

 started the initiative in 1993. Since then it has run at a cost of about $4 million a year, rising to $7.8 million in 2008 and $9 million in 2010 The scheme promises free cleanup within 24 hours of a phone call to 3-1-1

3-1-1

The non-emergency telephone number 3-1-1 is a special N-1-1 telephone number in many communities in Canada and the United States that provides quick, easy-to-remember access to non-emergency municipal services or a Citizen Service Center...

. Prior to the program's inception, the city considered itself responsible for removing graffiti if it was on city property

Public property

Public property is property, which is dedicated to the use of the public. It is a subset of state property. The term may be used either to describe the use to which the property is put, or to describe the character of its ownership...

, but private property

Private property

Private property is the right of persons and firms to obtain, own, control, employ, dispose of, and bequeath land, capital, and other forms of property. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which refers to assets owned by a state, community or government rather than by...

 owners had to shoulder the cleanup costs for graffiti on their own property.

In May 2009, on the instructions of Alderman Jim Balcer, Graffiti Blasters painted over a commissioned mural by artist Gabriel Villa

Gabriel Villa

Gabriel Villa is a Chicago-based artist and muralist.-2009 mural censorship controversy:In May 2009, he was commissioned to paint a mural on a private property in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood depicting three Chicago Police Department public surveillance cameras that carried the CPD logo along...

 on private property without the permission of the artist or property owner. A spokesman with the ACLU of Illinois said Balcer acted illegally, saying "He was elected to be an alderman. He was not elected to be the art critic of the ward."

See also

• Vandal
• Fixing Broken Windows
  Fixing Broken Windows
  The broken windows theory is a criminological theory of the norm setting and signaling effect of urban disorder and vandalism on additional crime and anti-social behavior...
  
  
• Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network
  Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network
  The Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network was founded in January 1984 by former Philadelphia Mayor Wilson Goode. The original goal of the program was to combat the spread of graffiti in the Philadelphia area and was led by Tim Spencer. In 1986 another program began within PAGN, named The Mural Arts...
  
  
• Graffiti abatement
  Graffiti abatement
  Graffiti abatement is a joint effort between a given community, its Public Works division, Police Department, Community Development, and Parks, Recreation, and Community Services to eliminate graffiti vandalism...
  
  

External links

• Graffiti Blasters at the City of Chicago