Alderman advocating for the return of statues, including Christopher Columbus’, after being taken down in response to protests following George Floyd and Breonna Taylor incidents.

CHICAGO (WLS) — A Chicago alderman is pushing to reinstall statues and monuments that were taken down during Lori Lightfoot’s tenure as mayor.

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“Ron Onesti, president of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, expressed that the removal of the monument not only meant the physical disappearance of it but also symbolized a loss of freedom of speech and respect for the community,”

Onesti said it was disappointing when statues of Christopher Columbus and others were removed.

The monuments were taken down in 2020, after protests over the murder of George Floyd and police shooting of Breonna Taylor.

The statues have been in storage ever since.

“According to Onesti, the issue was never about the significance of Columbus or the message associated with him, but rather about the process followed,” he stated. “The lack of community engagement and involvement in the decision-making process was the main concern.”

“In the words of 41st Ward Alderman Anthony Napolitano, the removal of the monument represented a form of selective censorship,” he pointed out. “Napolitano criticized the act, stating that the government was unjustly choosing whom to censor and whom to allow, which he deemed as unfair and inappropriate.”

Napolitano introduced the plan Wednesday to city council directing the Commissioner of Cultural Affairs and Special Events to reinstall all public artworks removed by the Chicago Monuments Project.

He said the city has defended other controversial artwork and feels the monuments should receive the same treatment.

“Artwork is supposed to evoke emotions, not all people are going to like the artwork, government should never censor artwork. And they kept repeating over and over that we should be giving the artist the opportunity to speak. All these Columbus statues that were removed. Those were created by artists,” Napolitano said.

ABC7 reached out to the Chicago Monuments Project Wednesday and Thursday and have not heard back.

If approved by city council, the order mandates the pieces be returned to their original locations within 60 days.

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