Illinois ‘Rushmore’ loses steam
Six years ago, when he was merely a state senator from Bloomington and not yet the Republican nominee for governor, Bill Brady pushed an idea that was something like an Illinois version of Mount Rushmore.
One of his constituents, Denny Rogers, whose long résumé includes being a sculptor, had brought to Brady the idea for a possible Illinois Presidential Memorial Monument, which could be on a 400- to 600-acre site and feature 40-foot-high bronze heads of Illinois-based presidents.
At the time, that would have included Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant and Ronald Reagan, who had all lived in the state. Now, of course, a fourth Illinoisan could be included.
Brady, back then, had sent a letter to former first lady Nancy Reagan seeking support, and at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York, sought out leaders of delegations from other states to give them packets of information as part of an effort to generate interest that could lead to private backing. The monument was seen as including an outdoor amphitheater with at least 8,000 seats, a museum and shops – all in all, a great tourist draw.
In a news release at the time, Brady said that his office, for several years, had been “in discussions with national-level designers, illustrators, sculptors, as well as developer and banking individuals about the exciting concept of creating a national/international monument, grounds, and building complex” to honor the presidents.
No such park yet exists in Illinois, of course, so when I recently came across the column I wrote about the issue back then, I thought I’d see where things have gone.
Rogers said people in the Peoria area became quite interested, they contacted him, and serious discussions were held about the project that could cost more than $50 million. He said one area that was considered was bluffs along the Illinois River north of the city. Another area discussed some years ago was near Starved Rock State Park.
But Rogers now says interest dried up after President Barack Obama got elected – not because he’d be another president to feature, but because of a change in the mood of those who might have kicked in money. The thought, said Rogers, was “it was kind of futile to work on putting something together that would be of a capitalist nature with an anti-capitalist president.”
“You can’t take, for example, Caterpillar, penalize them for success, and then ask them for a donation,” he said.
Carol Trumpe, a Republican member of the Peoria County Board, said she and her husband, Richard, did, in fact, get interested in the project and worked with Rogers on it after seeing a story about Rogers in the winter 2006-07 edition of an Illinois State University alumni publication.
Trumpe said she never spoke directly with Brady about it, but understood he was a supporter. She said the “economic crunch” that hit had a big impact, though she also agreed with Rogers that with Obama elected and Democrats in charge of state government, not to mention competing projects for donated dollars, it was “not a setting in which we could go out and raise money.”
“I would say I do,” she said when asked whether she agreed Obama is anti-capitalist.
Patty Schuh, spokeswoman for Brady’s gubernatorial campaign, said the project always was supposed to be privately funded, and Brady had heard there was no recent support materializing, so he hadn’t pushed it.
“It’s certainly not something that would ever be considered at this point for public funding, with the condition of state finances,” Schuh said.
“If the project were to go forward, Bill would certainly support including President Obama,” Schuh added. “We would certainly claim him as an Illinoisan.”
