Douglas, Menard Statues Removed from Capitol Grounds
The statue of former Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas, which was removed from the Capitol grounds this weekend.
UPDATED (4:46 P.M.):
There are two empty spaces outside of the Illinois State Capitol today after statues of two historical state figures were removed over the weekend.
Last month, the board the oversees the office of the Architect of the Illinois Capitol voted to remove the statue of Stephen A. Douglas, who was most famously a U.S. Senator for Illinois, candidate for President, as well as serving in Congress, as Illinois Secretary of State and on the Illinois Supreme Court between 1841 and 1860.
The statue of Pierre Menard, the first Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, was also removed.
In the wake of racial protests across the country, House Speaker Michael Madigan removed the Douglas portrait from the House of Representatives chamber and called for the statues to be removed. Menard owned slaves and Douglas profited from slavery.
A statue of Martin Luther King, Jr. is also expected to be moved closer to the Statehouse from its current place across the street.
Assistant Secretary of the Senate Scott Kaiser, who sits on the board overseeing the Architect’s office says the bases were also being removed and replaced with sod. Douglas’ statue stood immediately outside the main entrance of the east side of the Capitol. The Menard statue stood along Second Street closer to the Howlett Building south of the Capitol.
Kaiser says a statue of Douglas remains inside the Capitol on the building’s second floor, but is being reviewed as part of an overall assessment of statues and other items over the next year.
In 2019, officials from Eureka College, President Ronald Reagan’s alma mater, were attempting to convince officials to allow a Reagan statue on Capitol grounds.
Reached Monday, Eureka College Senior Vice President Mike Murtaugh said a Reagan statue is off the table for the time being.
“Given the present political climate, the Reagan statue is dead in the water,” he said. “Perhaps someday down the road it will move forward, but not at this time.”
“I believe statues are just not in vogue at the moment,” Murtaugh said.
Kaiser says no new statues are being planned and no state funds would be used for any new statues.
Murtaugh also questioned the removal of the Douglas statue.
“Perhaps there has never been a Senator who did more for the State of Illinois than Stephen Douglas,” Murtaugh said. “In his time, he was one of the giants of the Senate. Illinois was a western frontier state, just beginning to grow with little national influence. For example, he had a lot to do with making Chicago a transportation hub.”
Of the four Presidents who are generally considered from Illinois; Lincoln, Grant, Reagan, and Obama, only Lincoln has a statue outside the Capitol.
