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* For some background on what happened last night with the Christopher Columbus statues, click here for an amazing thread by Sam Kelly of the Sun-Times, beginning with a protest outside Mayor Lightfoot’s house. It gets kinda weird, and you may see some naughty words, but it’s really worth your time.
* Sun-Times coverage…
The controversial Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park was taken down under cover of darkness early Friday, hours after Mayor Lori Lightfoot ordered its removal.
Two cranes pulled up to the statue just before 2 a.m. Friday, after protesters and supporters of the statue argued and yelled at each other. Supporters included John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7.
The decision to remove the statue came after violent clashes between police and protesters broke out last week when activists tried but failed to take it down.
* A statement from Mayor Lightfoot’s office early this morning indicated that these were only temporary removals…
The City of Chicago—at Mayor Lightfoot’s direction—has temporarily removed the Christopher Columbus statues in Grant Park and Arrigo Park until further notice. This action was taken after consultation with various stakeholders. It comes in response to demonstrations that became unsafe for both protesters and police, as well as efforts by individuals to independently pull the Grant Park statue down in an extremely dangerous manner. This step is about an effort to protect public safety and to preserve a safe space for an inclusive and democratic public dialogue about our city’s symbols. In addition, our public safety resources must be concentrated where they are most needed throughout the city, and particularly in our South and West Side communities.
Over the coming days, Mayor Lightfoot and the City will be announcing a formal process to assess each of the monuments, memorials, and murals across Chicago’s communities, and develop a framework for creating a public dialogue to determine how we elevate our city’s history and diversity. As the Mayor has stated previously, this is not about a single statue or mural, but how we create a platform to channel our city’s dynamic civic energy to collaboratively, purposefully and peacefully reflect our values as Chicagoans and uplift the stories of all of our diverse city’s residents, particularly when it comes to the permanent memorialization of our shared heritage.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 9:33 am
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Totally fine with it. It should’ve been Leif Erikson statue in the first place. But I do welcome revisiting statues and the history behind the individual.
Comment by Jose Abreu's Next Homer Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 9:41 am
What is the Mayor’s authority to take down statues that are on Chicago Park District property, not City of Chicago property?
Comment by SouthSide Markie Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 9:43 am
I really like the statement, which seeks to deescalate the situation.
Comment by Hamlet's Ghost Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 9:46 am
It’s a flash point. I’m fine taking it down temporarily. There is a video of one of these being pulled down and lands on a rioters head. Not safe. My only issue is that it’s about resources on the sound and west side? We need to stop the violence downtown so our to base and employment base isn’t harmed more.
Comment by 44th Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 9:49 am
The statement by Lightfoot does explain the reasoning well though.
Thinking of the lyrics to Peace Frog right now, and I don’t even like the Doors.
Comment by Blue Beard Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 9:51 am
@SouthSide Markie
I believe the Chicago Park District is considered part of the City, unlike suburban park districts with independently elected boards.
Comment by Hamlet's Ghost Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 9:52 am
Sorry, not “considered” part of the City - the park district is part of the City.
Comment by Hamlet's Ghost Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 9:52 am
Goodbye Columbus
Comment by Donnie Elgin Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 9:58 am
Ought to be an interesting Columbus Day Parade in Chicago this year.
Comment by DuPage Saint Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 9:59 am
This sets a bad precedent. Hopefully there’s a plan for the next mob action. Douglas tomb?
And I’d hate to see a full vetting of the racist/homophobic/misogynistic tendencies of past Chicago mayors.
Not a bad decision, but she’s likely to get further tested and she needs a better plan.
Comment by Precedent Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 9:59 am
DuPage, you mean the Indigenous Peoples’ March?
Comment by Cheryl44 Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 10:02 am
Temp removal isn’t bad..but the mob from last week will just find another target to use to assault and batter police and damage property not owned by said mob members.
Comment by Annoyed Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 10:03 am
Boy I would not like to get on the wrong side of the Pres of the FOP. ‘Nuff said.
Lightfoot is buying time, which is probably a good strategy - the fight over which statues go and which stay is a fight she doesn’t need right now. She’s got another one coming that could turn out to be far more challenging.
Comment by dbk Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 10:04 am
Once again, I am happy she’s mayor.
Comment by Cheryl44 Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 10:08 am
Seems like Lightfoot took it down in anticipation of federal agents coming in. I wouldn’t be surprised if she put the statues right back up a few months from now.
Comment by Mr. Black Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 10:13 am
She can store them at Meigs field. If this defuses the situation, I cannot argue with Lightfoot’s logic. Time will tell if this is temporary or not.
Comment by Davis Junction Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 10:15 am
Don’t put it back. If it’s made of metal melt it down and use it for park benches. If it made of stone we can always use more breakwall rocks.
Comment by 17% Solution Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 10:18 am
Removing the statues seems like a sensible move. Classic stimulus - response behavior. In standard behavioral/cognitive psych I think it is called extinction i.e removal of stimulus. The statues are the stimulus and the protests are the response. Remove the stimulus (even temporarily) and the response loses its motivation.
In Portland the size and the intensity of the protests (response) increased when the Feds (stimulus) showed up.
I am no fan of Lightfoot as she comes across as combative and lacking in people skills. But Catanzara comes across as an old school shoot first and ask questions later dinosaur.
Both could use some lessons in How to Win Friends and Influence people.
Comment by Big Jer Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 10:24 am
As a 4th Degree Knight I can honestly say, Columbus is overrated.
Comment by R A T Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 10:35 am
Chicago Park District is not under the control of the mayor. It is its own governing and taxing body set up under the 1934 Illinois Park Consolidation Act.
Was also wondering how Lightfoot ordered removal of park district property.
Comment by Huh? Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 10:37 am
Makes sense. I have yet to meet a passionate Columbus defender. Just this week, I read that people were here 10000 years earlier than first thought
Comment by Jocko Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 10:37 am
== Hopefully there’s a plan for the next mob action. Douglas tomb?==
Who knows, but it seems like there’s a never-ending demand to remove something. Mayor Lightfoot has many important issues to deal with right now, I hope she doesn’t have to spend an inordinate amount of time going through a list off all the statues, frescoes and murals in the city. Deciding which piece of art is too offensive for public display seems a waste of time for a big-city mayor at this moment.
Comment by Lester Holt’s Mustache Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 10:41 am
I support the removal. Of course, it is not temporary.
Comment by striketoo Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 10:49 am
Temporarily. Uh, huh. A nation of laws replaced by temporary emergency edits by individuals. 2020 is the real 1984 of Science Fiction infamy.
Columbus was a less than perfect man, as were all of our founding fathers of the United States of America, and other figures in history. Back when he first sailed, the science and educated of that era concluded the Earth was flat and two large continents were not even part of the awareness of humanity in Europe. Turned out science was less than perfect back then, eh? Seeking a new trade route to India that didn’t go through hostile territories of the newly formed Ottoman Empire was a heck of an accomplishment for that time. The fact that Columbus and others later fumbled that discovery, or even incorrectly thought they had landed in India at the time will shortly be erased from the memory of humans. Did Columbus deserve a statute or his place in history? A mob decided not to discuss or debate, only cancel. Confederate Flags and statues? I always felt it was the same as honoring Benedict Arnold. Debate? No just cancel and erase history, don’t learn from it. And Lightfoot panicked in a bid to bring peace. Mayor Chamberlain perhaps?
Reminds me of the movie Idiocracy and the Time Machine Ride of history that we all laughed at. Now suddenly that comedy movie has a real meaning and message? Sheesh.
But now instead of learning from history so that we never repeat it again, we prefer to erase any ugly portions of it. When do the book burnings and permanent closings of libraries start up? Mark Twain’s classics that went against the grain when they were written and were groundbreaking? Cancel. Or the rounding up of ethic, religious or racial groups and permanently interring them or exterminating them? Cancel them too.
Sheesh. We all need to get a grip here and figure out where we are going with all of this.
Comment by Louis G Atsaves Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 10:51 am
@Hamlet’s Ghost
The Chicago Park District is a distinct unit of government, created separate from the City of Chicago pursuant to the Chicago Park District Act, 70 ILCS 1505/1. Section 26.10-1 of that Act provides that: “The territory known as Grant Park shall be under the jurisdiction of the Chicago Park District…”
Comment by SouthSide Markie Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 10:53 am
Lots and lots and LOTS of words - Louis G Atsaves -
Like these;
=== Sheesh. We all need to get a grip here and figure out where we are going with all of this.===
Simple question, yes or no;
Do you support removing confederate statues?
So I know where that “grip” is.
Thank you.
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 10:54 am
“Back when he first sailed, the science and educated of that era concluded the Earth was flat”
Complete myth. Educated people knew the Earth was round about 2,000 years before Columbus.
https://www.history.com/news/christopher-columbus-never-set-out-to-prove-the-earth-was-round#:~:text=According%20to%20historian%20Jeffrey%20Burton,observations%20that%20Earth%20was%20round.
Comment by Proud Papa Bear Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 10:55 am
@Jacko - so should memorials to Lewis and Clark be removed, such as the Arch (i.e. gateway to the west/museum of westward expansion)? Do we let a band of “protestors” attack police and damage property to determine this? I vote for felony convictions and jail time for these criminals.
Comment by Annoyed Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 10:56 am
“passionate Columbus defender”
The Chicago Italian-American community that paid to erect the statue.
Comment by Huh? Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 10:58 am
What will the next “ask” be by the protesters since the Mayor caved on this? There just seems to be no sense of cultural proportion here with this. The early explorers in their day were the space travelers of our day. The history of all civilizations is filled with ugliness and less than perfect humans. Better to remember and learn about both the good and the bad rather than try to “erase” history.
Comment by Responsa Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 11:03 am
Temporary removal defuses the immediate danger.
My guess would be that after all the discussion is done, the statue doesn’t get put back.
Comment by Tifan Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 11:04 am
Going further, Section 7.02 of the Chicago Park District Act authorizes the Chicago Park District to enact its own ordinances. Those ordinances have the full force of law. The Park District has done this through its enactment of The Chicago Park District Code. Section 7-B-5-d of that Code states that: “No person in any park…cut, break or in any way injure, deface, destroy or alter any building, fence,
monument, sculpture bridge, or other structure or property contained therein;” Section 7-B-18 imposes a civil fine of $500/day for such violations.
Comment by SouthSide Markie Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 11:07 am
Columbus brought livestock, printed word, gunpowder and iron to this hemisphere. He never found his westward shortcut to the spice islands but he helped define and expand our knowledge of the world. A daring explorer and leader of men.
Comment by Al Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 11:08 am
Yes, the passage of time has proven Columbus to be overrated. However I think a large part of the animosity against de-emphasizing him has been because he has become so wrapped up as a symbol of Italian heritage that Columbus Day has become a de facto Italian heritage festival. I think there are plenty of other great Italians and Italian-Americans that can be celebrated and indeed amplified at the same time focus on Columbus is diminished. I think de-escalating the current situation is wise. And as an aside Stephen Douglas can be thrown in the dumpster of history as far as I am concerned.
Comment by Ron Burgundy Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 11:14 am
@Jose Abreau - We have a Leif Erikson statue in Humboldt Park if you’d like to come visit it.
Comment by Humboldt Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 11:16 am
===try to “erase” history===
This isn’t about erasing any history. It’s about whether this person deserves such praise and honor.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 11:17 am
@OswegoWilly, in full Louis G. Atsaves stalker mode again. Reread my comments. Does it sound like I want to leave those Confederate monuments or flags up in public? No?
Try to keep up. And get a grip.
Comment by Louis G Atsaves Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 11:18 am
===Columbus brought livestock, printed word, gunpowder and iron to this hemisphere===
He also brought Smallpox and zealous Catholic evangelists.
Comment by 47th Ward Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 11:19 am
Section 21-1.01 of the Illinois Criminal Code also required the Mayor to obtain the consent of the State to remove the statues:
(a) A person commits criminal damage to government supported property when he or she knowingly:
(1) damages any government supported property without the consent of the State;…
(b) For the purposes of this Section, “government supported” means any property supported in whole or in part with State funds, funds of a unit of local government or school district, or federal funds administered or granted through State agencies.
(c) Sentence. A violation of this Section is a Class 4 felony when the damage to property is $500 or less; a Class 3 felony when the damage to property exceeds $500 but does not exceed $10,000; a Class 2 felony when the damage to property exceeds $10,000 but does not exceed $100,000; and a Class 1 felony when the damage to property exceeds $100,000. When the damage to property exceeds $10,000, the court shall impose upon the offender a fine equal to the value of the damages to the property.”
Regardless of whether one agrees with the motivations, the way the Mayor went about this trampled on the law.
Comment by SouthSide Markie Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 11:19 am
- Counselor -
Anyone who writes with such vigor and zest and still won’t openly admit you support Trump… and writes this…
=== Sheesh. We all need to get a grip here and figure out where we are going with all of this.===
… at the end, why would I trust *any* thought that one would deem “obvious”
Not a stalker, LOL, your utter hypocrisy on most anything needs to be pointed out, as you pretend you can say things without being held accountable.
New world and all…
Still waiting for you to say you support Trump.
To the post,
=== This isn’t about erasing any history. It’s about whether this person deserves such praise and honor.===
That’s the ball game.
Who exactly has earned the honor… not confederates, the traitors… so I don’t need statues to make me question someone’s role, or place… I see statues as symbols of honor.
Who should we be honoring?
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 11:24 am
The defense of Columbus (and statutes) reminds me of Louis CK’s joke about Christians feeling under attack and asking them “What year is it?”
Comment by Jocko Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 11:33 am
@SouthSideMarkie -
Yes, I was wrong in part. The legal relationship between the Park District (and the CPS for that matter) and the City is nuanced given that the mayor appoints and city council approves the selection of the governing board and the CEO.
From the CPD website:
== The Chicago Park District Act (70 ILCS 1505 et seq) provides that the Chicago Park District (the “Park District”) shall be governed by a board of seven (7) non-salaried Commissioners who are appointed by the Mayor of the City of Chicago with the approval of the Chicago City Council. Under the Chicago Park District Code, the Commissioners have a fiduciary duty to act, vote on all matters, and govern the Park District in the best interest of the Park District. ==
I would be astonished if the statue(s) were removed without the mayor talking with Michael P. Kelly, first.
Comment by Hamlet's Ghost Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 11:35 am
The Chicago Park District held a special meeting just two days ago to get the ball rolling on renaming Douglas Park to Douglass Park, an entirely great idea from Rep Buckner and a few others.
https://chicagoparkdistrict.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=798296&GUID=E1DD79FB-F0D5-4E65-9B23-AD979075058E&Options=info|&Search=
Probably adding start of Columbus review wasn’t on their radar or headache they wanted, but would’ve been nice. Maybe at their August 12th meeting?
Comment by ChicagoBars Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 11:37 am
Someone i used to wok with, talked about 99 year temporary. Translation: It gone.
Comment by Bruce (no not him) Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 11:51 am
Announce that the statue will be replaced with one honoring the Chicago’s Weathermen. Protesters will be thrilled.
Later at the unveiling: statues of Tom Skilling, Harry Volkman, and Jerry Taft.
Comment by City Zen Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 11:54 am
===so should memorials to Lewis and Clark be removed===
There is an actual connection with Lewis and Clark in St. Louis. No such close connection exists for Columbus in Chicago. Honoring world or national history can be important, but not specifically needed in every locality.
The subjects of memorials do tend to change through time as their impacts are reconsidered. For example, I would not move the statue from Douglas’ tomb because that is the most important connection with the man, and his body is there. His portraits and statues in the Capitol might be reconsidered given a modern view of his overall importance.
Comment by Jibba Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 11:58 am
City Zen - Hilarious segue between the 1970’s radicals to TV personalities.
Comment by Huh? Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 12:04 pm
47th Ward, Columbus certainly did not deliberately bring Smallpox on his voyage as a biologic weapon. It was a known but untreatable scourge. It and other diseases follow the transportation routes the same as always. Columbus should not be blamed for an Act of God.
Comment by Al Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 12:08 pm
Ambivalent on Columbus. I think there is value in commemorating him, even though the discovery thing has some footnotes, it was certainly the beginning of the integration of the Americas with Europe. And I don’t really fault him for things emblematic of the times. And he never made it to North America for sure. Not exactly sure why there is a statue. I think we should try to teach history accurately then we will all have more nuanced understanding. Super happy to get rid of Confederate figures. My ancestors fought to keep the Union and I stand with that.
Comment by Banish Misfortune Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 12:22 pm
The Colombian Exposition in 1893 made Chicago a world class city. And it focused on Columbus and progress. We are not progressing, but devolving into factions and viewing history through our present lens. We can do better….
Comment by Top of the State Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 12:26 pm
=== We are not progressing, but devolving into factions and viewing history through our present lens. We can do better….===
There are not “both sides” in many of these statues.
It’s that kind of “thoughtful” that’s thoughtless and weak to systemic and institutional racism.
So there’s that.
If ya wanna go “devolve” and “both sides”… that’s choosing to think systemic and institutional racism by honoring with statues is fine.
“Devolving”… yikes.
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 12:30 pm
== He also brought Smallpox and zealous Catholic evangelists.==
And measles.
But those things weren’t intentional. What was intentional was the gruesome slaughter of people who welcomed him and his crew with open arms. Columbus and his crew would cut off the hands of people who wouldn’t give them gold.(In a land that didn’t have any) And sold girls as young as nine into slavery. It was the Catholic priests among his crew who recorded the carnage. They wrote the King and asked him to intervene, to make it stop.
== Columbus was a less than perfect man==
I don’t even know where to begin with that sentence.
Comment by 17% Solution Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 12:37 pm
A thoughtful view on monuments from a historian.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jul/23/trump-portland-confederate-monuments-racism-history
Comment by Jibba Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 12:47 pm
“I’d hate to see a full vetting of the racist/homophobic/misogynistic tendencies of past Chicago mayors.”
What’s to hate about that?
– MrJM
Comment by @misterjayem Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 12:47 pm
===Columbus should not be blamed for an Act of God.===
Agreed. But it’s part of his legacy nonetheless. And Europeans believed Native Americans were “savages,” in part because they were not baptized.
It should also be noted, that in exchange for Smallpox, Native Americans may have sent Syphilis back to Europe. Global pandemics are nothing new.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/case-closed-columbus/
Comment by 47th Ward Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 12:50 pm
Great move by the mayor.
CC was an Italian hired by the Spanish. He’s not an American, and he’s really not that important.
Comment by 33rd ward Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 12:53 pm
I am with Davis Junction on this one, this is Lori’s Meigs Field Moment….Ho Ho Ho
Comment by Santa Claus Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 1:02 pm
Making things disappear in the middle of the night is a time-honored tradition among Chicago mayors.
Comment by JoanP Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 1:03 pm
-The Colombian Exposition in 1893 made Chicago a world class city.-
Sure, the knowledge available and attitudes of the time made people think he “discovered America” and was a pretty swell guy. That was 127 years ago.
Comment by Ron Burgundy Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 1:23 pm
* What was intentional was the gruesome slaughter of people *
And you point is ? The locals sacrificed their enemies to make it rain, how cool is that? I challenge you to find anyone in 1492 that would be considered a thoughtful, caring person in 2020. Beyond self preservation and a mother caring for their children, life had little value in those days.
Comment by gene gene Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 1:30 pm
=We all need to get a grip here and figure out where we are going with all of this.=
Perhaps. Maybe we could also realize that we’re in the midst of an unchecked global pandemic that’s straining all of our public finances and resources and if we can minimize mass gatherings, potential police confrontations, and secret police descending on cities that it’s not necessarily a bad thing.
After all you are in favor of de-escalating violence aren’t you? I would hate to think that you’d purposely encourage divisiveness.
Comment by Pundent Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 1:42 pm
“The locals sacrificed their enemies to make it rain, how cool is that?”
Then take the statutes of them down, too.
– MrJM
Comment by @misterjayem Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 1:45 pm
Pundent — nice false comparison. This is not two groups attacking each other. It’s one mob going around Chicago assaulting law enforcement and destroying property to get their way. De-escalate the violence by sending these people to IDOC.
Comment by Annoyed Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 1:55 pm
==After all you are in favor of de-escalating violence aren’t you?==
Not to mention that Columbus’s “discovery” will be taught (hopefully in context) and remain in history books for at least the next 100 years.
Comment by Jocko Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 1:56 pm
MrJM..good luck with that…might I suggest you start with the Mayan temple at Epcot?
Comment by Annoyed Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 2:10 pm
I hope the statues are housed in the same warehouse as the Ft Dearborn Massacre statue that used to grace Prairie Avenue.
Comment by Cheryl44 Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 2:22 pm
Suggest that the Mayor move the Grant statue in Lincoln Park to Grant Park. The statue’s location by the Lincoln Park Zoo is not noticed.
Comment by Top of the State Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 2:47 pm
Annoyed,
Epcot is not in Illinois. Epcot is not public ground.
Comment by cermak_rd Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 3:33 pm
“I challenge you to find anyone in 1492 that would be considered a thoughtful, caring person in 2020.”
The issue isn’t that Columbus fails the moral standard of our day, it’s that he failed the moral standard of his day.
Columbus’ barbarous cruelty was so beyond the pale that Governor Francisco De Bodadilla arrested him for inhuman and widespread crimes against the native population and shipped him back to Spain in shackles.
A contemporaneous 48-page report, written by a member of an order of religious knights, the Order of Calatrava, was found in 2006 in the national archive in the Spanish city of Simancas. It contained testimonies from 23 people, including both enemies and supporters of Columbus, about the treatment of colonial subjects by Columbus.
According to Consuelo Varela, one of the Spanish historians who’s studied the document, “Even those who loved him had to admit the atrocities that had taken place.”
One of the eye-witnesses to Columbus’ inhumanity, a Spanish historian and Catholic priest Bartolome de las Casas, wrote at the time, “My eyes have seen these acts so foreign to human nature that now I tremble as I write.”
Columbus is trash today because he’s always been trash.
– MrJM
Comment by @misterjayem Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 3:35 pm
gene gene, Nice whataboutism argument, can I frame it?
Although I’ve never read the Arawaks “sacrificed their enemies to make it rain.”
Comment by Da Big Bad Wolf Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 4:04 pm
cermak_rd, then please get over to Cahokia Mounds to level it.
Comment by Annoyed Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 4:18 pm
We all know now that Columbus did not discover America. What did Columbus do that was so great?
Comment by M Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 4:36 pm
==Lightfoot ordered Columbus statues “temporarily removed”==
Mayor Lightfoot did the right thing to remove the Columbus statue before it was torn down, but the Columbus statue removal should be permanent not temporarily. The mayor should sell that statue to making money for the city.
Comment by Mama Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 4:44 pm
The only issue I have with this is that it makes Lightfoot look weak and able to be bullied. I don’t have a problem with the statue coming down, I just think it should go to a vote at City Hall.
Comment by Chicagonk Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 4:50 pm
I have no faith that its removal will be “temporary.” I hope she proves me wrong, but I doubt it.
Comment by CJA Friday, Jul 24, 20 @ 4:51 pm