Sangamon Sun

A new task force was recently created to help determine which statues should be added and removed from Springfield. 

State Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) has an opinion in the matter, according to April 21 reporting from WTVO News. 

"Instead of having mobs tearing down statues, we need to come up with a sober process to evaluate these folks," Butler said. 

A similar effort is underway in the Windy City, where the Chicago Monuments Advisory Committee has put statues of historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, George Washington and William McKinley at risk for removal should the mayor determine the statues do not "memorialize our shared values, history and heritage as Chicagoans," according to Chicago Sun-Times.

The president of the Illinois State Society of Washington, DC, wrote to the Sun-Times imploring that Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot order the Abraham Lincoln statues be immunized from the removal consideration, alleging that Lincoln's participation in slavery abolishment has earned his memorials permanent tenancy in the Windy City. 

It is a national effort, as well. WTVO reported that other states, including Ohio, North Carolina and Tennessee, had initiated similar task forces to begin studying the history and character of historical figures honored hundreds of years ago.