CHICAGO: Two statues of Christopher Columbus that stood in Chicago parks were taken down early on Friday at the direction of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a week after protesters trying to topple one of the monuments to the Italian explorer clashed with police.

Crews used a large crane to remove the statue in downtown Chicago’s Grant Park from its pedestal. A small crowd cheered and passing cars honked as the statue came down about 3am. The second statue was removed about 5:30am from Arrigo Park in Chicago’s Little Italy neighborhood.

In a statement issued after the statues were taken down, the Democratic mayor’s office said they were being temporarily removed ... until further notice. It said the removals were in response to demonstrations that became unsafe for both protesters and police, as well as efforts by individuals to independently pull the Grant Park statue down in an extremely dangerous manner.

This step is about an effort to protect public safety and to preserve a safe space for an inclusive and democratic public dialogue about our city’s symbols, the mayors office said in the statement, which said the statues were removed following consultation with various stakeholders.

The statues’ removal came after hundreds of protesters gathered on Thursday night near Lightfoot’s home to call for defunding the Chicago Police Department. The crowd cheered when an activist used a megaphone to inform them that Lightfoot would be removing the Grant Park statue.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2020