"Suspicious" Solicitor Reported in Area; What You Should Know

By Natalie Stevens

Have you been approached at your home by someone to sell you education books for children and then want to know about your children?

A Yorkville Patch reader did and said the entire exchange made her very uncomfortable. She posted about it on site, describing the individual as having blond hair, light build, with a thick accent. On Facebook, Plainfield Patch readers also reported seeing the man in the Lakewood Falls and Prairie Trail subdivisions.

"When he came to our house, I told him I never buy anything from my front door and I encouraged him to leave info and his name, but he wouldn't," wrote Yorkville Patch reader Cheryl. "He presented me with his sales permit from the city and mentioned other moms and kids, by name, that he met prior to coming to my door. He was extremely persistent. I  had to be very firm to get him to leave."

She said the same thing happened a few years before and left her and her neighbors feeling very uneasy.

"It was suspected that they were casing and gathering info about families, specifically with children," said Cheryl.

Other readers chimed in on Facebook, many with similar stories.

"Those people have been in our neighborhood before. It was very, very creepy!" wrote Kathy T.

"A lady was here doing the same thing about two weeks ago in Weslake," reader Trisha wrote on the Plainfield Patch Facebook page. "Very persistent and annoying."

Another reader commented, "This is happening in Wesmere! A similar gentleman was in Wesmere Pointe a week or so ago! Very suspicious!"

"We had two guys come to our door and they claimed to be 'European.' The one guy, was blonde, wore a pink polo had an accent (honestly it did not sound real), and he was very aggressive and would not take no for an answer. I literally had to shut the door on him and firmly told him to leave. I called the police on both occasions," said poster Kristie B. 

A user on the Oswego Patch Facebook posted that they believe this seller is an international student participating in the Southwestern Advantage sales and leadership program.

"If this is the case, he is living with a local host family and spending the summer in your community running his business to offset the cost of his own higher education in Europe," said the post. "Approximately 2,500 students like him from over 300 campuses worldwide sell our educational products to nearly 200,000 families each year through our summer sales program."

Oswego Police Chief Dwight Baird said residents should let solicitors know they are not interested and close the door. 

"I would always ask to see their permit from the village/city, it does have an expiration date on it," added Baird. He said not all persons are required to obtain a permit depending on what they sell, but asking about it alerts the seller that the resident is aware.

Any residents who have an issue with a solicitor are asked to contact the police.

The solicitor mentioned just had their permit revoked in Yorkville after numerous complaints.