The village of Huntley, Illinois, is famed for one thing: a giant inflatable of President Donald Trump outside a MAGA-themed market.
Standing six feet tall in a blue suit and red tie flapping in the wind with both thumbs up, the big blow-up has become an attraction for tourists who stop by the Trump Truth Store to pose for photos.
But after city officials accused the store of violating Huntley’s “building and sign ordinances” with MAGA merch blocking the sidewalk, a court ruled it must take down every banner and flag and vacate the premises by 6 p.m. on July 17—inflatable and all.
For owner Lisa Fleischmann, the decision is political, the crackdown selective—and all of it unpopular with locals. “Everybody has stuff all over the place … Their ordinances are so outdated,” Fleischmann told the Chicago Tribune.
On Tuesday, the 51-year-old arrived at McHenry County Circuit Court wearing a “45-47 Take America Back” tube top and sandals printed with Trump’s signature in addition to a faux-diamond “Trump” choker. She left vowing not to give up.
“People want to know the truth; they support my fight,” Fleischmann told the Tribune outside the courthouse. “The people of Huntley definitely support what I’m doing. I’m like a celebrity whenever I go out to any of these functions. It’s insane.”
The city said in a written statement that Fleischmann “insists on maintaining signage in violation of the ordinance that includes temporary banners, flags, inflatable figures, and signs placed within the right-of-way.”
The city began citing the landlord with citations in January, then the landlord moved to kick Fleischmann out. Joe Gottemoller, lawyer for the landlord, says his client is “quite happy to have this done.”
“I don’t believe it’s political at all,” added Gottemoller, a Republican who serves on the McHenry County Board. “Most towns have these ordinances. It’s not just Huntley.”
Fleischmann said her landlord “is definitely not the villain,” blaming village officials instead, and vowed to open up a new store—which will, in classic Trump style, be “a bigger space.”
The current 900-square-foot shop—which Fleischmann described as a ”closet”—will be replaced, she vows, with a showroom “three or four times the size” in her hometown of Algonquin or Carpentersville.
“I wanted to move … I needed a bigger space,” she said.
Plans include a replica Oval Office for the selfie-minded, meeting rooms to “Make America Healthy Again,” and, presumably, an even yuger inflatable commander-in-chief.
