House Speaker Madigan wants to remove portrait of Stephen Douglas from House floor

Posted on
The “remove the statue” movement has come to Springfield. (Photo courtesy: WJBC/File)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – The “remove the statue” movement has come to Springfield. House Speaker Mike Madigan’s office says he wants to get the ball rolling to remove the portrait of Stephen Douglas from the House floor and remove the statues of Douglas and Pierre Menard from in front of the Capitol. The statement says there is no place to honor those who were involved with slavery and bigotry.

Douglas was famously a U.S. senator after the series of debates against future President Abraham Lincoln. Menard was Illinois’ first lieutenant governor.

Madigan says replcaing the Douglas portrait with one of former President Barack Obama can be done by a House resolution … and removing the statues is under the auspices of the Architect of the Capitol. Madigan also wants to move the statue of Martin Luther King, Jr., to a more prominent place. That one stands across the street from the Capitol.

Dave Dahl can be reached at News@WJBC.com. 

Blogs

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…

Everyone counts and you could make the difference

By Mike Matejka How many federal dollars will there be for road repairs?  To feed hungry families?  How many Illinois representatives will there be in Congress?  Are Illinois communities going to get their fair share? There’s only one way to ensure our community gets treated properly – answer the census. The every ten year U.S. census,…