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

Posted on July 9, 2020
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 [email protected]. 

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