* Earlier…
Board members of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol will take up a request from the Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan to replace imagery of political giant Stephen Douglas and Illinois pioneer Pierre Menard because of their racist pasts.
Madigan called for replacing statues and paintings of the two in July, inspired by the racially charged killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and a nationwide movement to remove Confederate symbols.
* Latest…
* Finke…
Architect of the Capitol Andrea Aggertt said the statues will be removed to a secure storage area maintained by the state. The granite bases on which the statues are mounted will also be removed and saved for possible future use. The locations where the statues were placed will be sodded.
The cost of the work hasn’t been determined, nor has a company been selected to do it.
“Obviously we want to hire someone who is skilled in the removal and boxing the statue, safe transport to take those items to our off-site storage,” Aggertt said.
She said the goal is to have the statues removed by winter.
* Press release…
Senate President Don Harmon released the following statement after the board of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol voted to remove statues of Stephen Douglas and Pierre Menard from the Capitol grounds:
“The decision to remove these statues and give Dr. King’s statue a rightful place on the Capitol grounds is certainly a step in the right direction. It is also the beginning of what I hope to be a longer conversation about how we can do better to accurately represent our state’s past. I thank members of our caucus for bringing these concerns to light.”
Nothing from Madigan yet.
- NotRich - Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 2:00 pm:
I guess that is it.. problem solved.. now onto fixing pensions & budget
- 17% Solution - Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 2:11 pm:
==now onto fixing pensions & budget==
Check your ballot for the graduated income tax amendment.
- Last Bull Moose - Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 2:25 pm:
I would like to see a statue of someone with a strong Illinois connection. MLK was a national leader, but I don’t think of him having that strong a tie to Illinois.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 2:29 pm:
===statue of someone===
Growing less fond of statues of specific people.
The most popular statue on the grounds is of firefighters. More like that, please.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 2:32 pm:
Statues of people can, and should be swapped out as necessary. It’s important that these symbols of people are put in place where they are honored for who they are, not as a symbol for others to have uneasy feelings or be a signaling of things like racism.
More than fine with the changes, that’s part of understanding the need to address systemic and institutional racism
- Scott - Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 2:49 pm:
@Last Bull Moose
That was my thought too. MLK was obviously a great man, but someone more closely tied to Illinois would be better.
My pick would be C.T. Vivian. He was born in MO, but when he was young, moved to Macomb, IL where he went to grade school, HS, and then attended Western Illinois. After that, he worked in Peoria for a time, where he participated in his first sit-in demonstration in 1947. He eventually made his way south to Nashville where he was closely involved with other civil rights leaders like James Lawson and John Lewis, participated with the Freedom Rides, and worked closely with MLK. He did a number of other positive things in his life and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013. Vivian died from natural causes in Atlanta on July 17, 2020, two weeks before his 96th birthday, and on the same day that his friend and fellow activist, John Lewis, died.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._T._Vivian
- OneMan - Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 2:55 pm:
Big Jim wouldn’t be a bad choice IMHO, especially since we are going to sell the building.
- Ralph - Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 2:57 pm:
I love the irony of taking down statues, while keeping the name Illinois.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 3:05 pm:
=== Big Jim===
I’d even go with a bust of JRT, outside the office, somewhere in the floor, at the statehouse(?)
- Enviro - Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 3:50 pm:
We do not need statues of people on the grounds of the Illinois capitol.
Gardens would be much more enjoyable.
- Six Degrees of Separation - Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 3:53 pm:
It’s a local issue, but it will be interesting to see if there is any movement to take down the Stephen Douglas statue in downtown Ottawa where the famous debate was. He’s prominently featured on a wall mural nearby, too. One thing in Douglas’ favor might be that, without him, there would be no debate and Lincoln would be arguing into thin air.
- Dave Dahl - Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 4:18 pm:
If the trend continues to its natural conclusion, we just may get our Lincoln County.
- Nitemayor - Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 4:42 pm:
Lincoln did not believe in equality of the races, and supported the removal of former slaves to Liberia. Having said that, a statue of former U.S. Senator Lyman Trumbull is my choice. His pro bono cases representing people of color, author of the 13th Amendment, support for 14th, Civil Rights Act of 1866, later work on behalf of Samuel Tilden in 1876 and his work with Clarence Darrow on the Eugene Debs appeal show an independent streak of over 50 years of activism.
- Rich Hill - Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 4:43 pm:
Since Marquette Park tried to bury MLK in rocks, the state memorializing him in granite is a nice gesture.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 4:55 pm:
=== Having said that===
LOL, ignoring the whole 13th Amendment thing… the hero who kept the Union intact…
Having said that… Lincoln (with Grant) saved the United States, and enshrined in the constitution the end of slavery… and didn’t live to see his saved America or lead it in peace.
Statues… Lincoln deserves his, and his memorial in Washington DC too.
- Paul S - Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 5:39 pm:
It would be nice if the leaders of this state actually asked who they would like to be displayed, if wanted, at the State Capitol. This is a Madigan request, and a Madigan request will be honored. It doesn’t matter what the rest of the people of Illinois say or who from Illinois should be honored.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 5:44 pm:
=== It doesn’t matter what the rest of the people of Illinois say or who from Illinois should be honored.===
Lemme get this straight;
You typed all you typed to claim victimhood for (checks notes) the rest of the people of Illinois, yet you don’t give one example of your own during all that typing.
Do I have that right or did I miss anything?
Geez, Louise…
- 17% Solution - Thursday, Aug 20, 20 @ 6:20 am:
== One thing in Douglas’ favor might be that, without him, there would be no debate and Lincoln would be arguing into thin air.==
The debates already happened, in 1858.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Aug 20, 20 @ 6:28 am:
===One thing in Douglas’ favor might be that, without him, there would be no debate and Lincoln would be arguing into thin air.===
This is like arguing the Washington Generals were a major reason the Harlem Globetrotters were so good.
“Ok”
- Elliott Ness - Thursday, Aug 20, 20 @ 6:42 am:
The Washington Generals WERE the reason the Globetrotters were that good, Willie. Geeeeeez
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Aug 20, 20 @ 7:03 am:
=== The Washington Generals WERE the reason the Globetrotters were that good===
That’s like believing a magic trick… is built on… actual magic.
- Hargus - Thursday, Aug 20, 20 @ 4:19 pm:
Douglas was the one who suggested having the debates.
frankly, I wonder if we’d even be talking about this issue if Madigan didn’t need to distract from his (other) problems.