The veterans memorial just south of the Cook County Courthouse parking lot is crumbling, and Maintenance Director Brian Silence has talked to both the county board and American Legion Post 413 Commander Don Wilson about fixing it. Both are willing to work together to fix it and possibly move it farther away from the parking lot.
Two weeks after informing the board that the veterans memorial that has been on courthouse grounds since 1949 is falling apart, Cook County Maintenance Director Brian Silence talked to commissioners again, this time with American Legion Post 413 Commander Don Wilson. At the previous county board meeting, commissioners had asked Silence to talk to Wilson about what the American Legion wanted its role to be in the care of the memorial.
At that meeting, Silence had reported on two bids for repair of the memorial: $2,000 to tuck point and reset the rocks or $6,370 to disassemble and rebuild the memorial. At this meeting, he said he had spoken to mason Lloyd Speck who said the old mortar would need to be ground away. Speck estimated a cost of $3,000-5,000 and said he would recommend a cap on the top to keep rain off the surface.
“It’s getting to be a little bit of an eyesore,” Wilson said. “If you would just fix it cosmetically right now, you would be wasting time and money. …If we’re going to do anything, let’s do a good job of it.” He said that the brass plaque needs to be shined up and preserved and that Speck has good products for such things.
Wilson suggested that the memorial be moved south, farther from the parking lot and away from two pines that have grown around it. Silence said Speck estimated there was only a 30% chance that the memorial could be moved without being destroyed.
Wilson said the trees on either side of the memorial could be cut down, but he preferred to keep them there. “I have an opposition to cutting down the trees,” Commissioner Jan Hall said. “We had a lot of complaints when we took the bushes down.” Some large bushes were removed from the area around the steps below the courthouse a year ago.
Wilson offered to have some fundraising events at the American Legion to help pay for repairs to the memorial. Regarding uncertainty over the cost, he said, “Once you get started, you never know!”
Commissioner Hall recommended waiting until spring to make a decision, moving the memorial, and “doing it right.” Commissioner Jim Johnson said he would like restoration of the memorial to be a partnership between the American Legion and the county.
The plaque on the memorial states: “Roll of Honor: In memory of those who answered their country’s call [in World Wars I and II], Cook County dedicates this memorial, 1949.”
The county board will resume its discussion of the memorial next spring.
Wilson also expressed his appreciation for modification of the courthouse rain garden so it wouldn’t intrude on the veterans memorial area. Commissioner Bruce Martinson said the rain garden “has gone from an eyesore to an appealing work of art.”
“Sometimes things work out well,” Jim Johnson added.
The modification cost the county $3,774 — $2,850 for labor and $924 for sod.
Leave a Reply