CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - A new City Council proposal would return two controversial statues to their rightful homes in Grant and Arrigo parks.
The ordinance proposed by Chicago Alderman Anthony Napolitano calls on the Cultural Affairs and Special Events Commissioner to reinstall all statues, monuments or public works, including the Columbus statues removed in 2020, to their previous locations.
President of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans Ron Onesti said the measure is long overdue.
“We want the statues back. We want the monuments where they belong, so they can teach the lessons and incite the conversations, they were put up 100 years ago in the first place,” Onesti told WBBM.
The order stems from Commissioner Clinée Hedspeth's refusal to remove a puppet display in the city-owned Cultural Center that was seen as antisemitic by some aldermen.
Oenesti added that the two Columbus statues remain in storage when other public artworks don’t.
“It can’t be selective, and that’s exactly what’s happening. You talk about racism and inclusion and all the buzz words of the day, we can’t live by what they did those years ago.”
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