(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Chicago moved a step closer to erecting a long-proposed memorial honoring victims of police torture in the city.
The Mellon Foundation announced Monday it will donate nearly $7 million to the city's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The money will help establish a Torture Justice Memorial and seven other monuments emphasizing the contributions of minority communities, an initiative dating to Mayor Lori Lightfoot's administration.
Current Mayor Brandon Johnson says his administration will come up with $1 million matching funds to make the project a reality.
“Chicago’s monuments and memorials are more than just public art — they speak directly to the values, history, and vision of our great city,” Johnson said in a news release. “I’m grateful for the Mellon Foundation’s support of the Chicago Monuments Project and the creation of cultural works around labor, civil rights, racial justice and other areas that represent our diversity, honor our history and tell our story.”
Some of the other monuments will recognize Chicago’s Race Riots of 1919; Rekia Boyd, who was fatally shot by an off-duty Chicago police officer; gospel legend Mahalia Jackson; and Latina figures in Pilsen.
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