CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A group deciding the fates of dozens of Chicago statues and monuments met for the first time Thursday night.
The Chicago Monuments Project advisory panel is weighing opinions and considering arguments for and against statues, like the Columbus statue.
After protesters tried to pull down the Columbus statue in Grant Park last summer, the Mayor had it and others removed, at least temporarily.
Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa said at the time it had to come down.
""When you have a statue in a place of honor, you are saying that is someone that should be celebrated....Christopher Columbus was a pedophile who raped children. Christopher Columbus was a genocidal maniac," he said.
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Ron Onesti, president of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian-Americans, told CBS 2 the Italian-American community wants the statues back.
“I can tell you, the Italian-American community firmly believes that we want the statues back,” he said. “I can’t imagine any other ethnic group would allow someone else to dictate what another ethnic group’s heroes, or icons, or legends should be.
“By taking them down, we are disrespecting and dishonoring the contributions that Italians and Italian-Americans have made to this country."
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More than 40 statues and monuments have been flagged as controversial, including those depicting Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington.
The city has created a website detailing all 41 monuments, and has included a feedback form for the public to share their thoughts.
It is unclear what, if anything, will be done to those more than 40 monuments that have been flagged.
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