Harold Washington statue damaged in Bronzeville
BY LAUREN FITZPATRICK AND ALLISON HORTON Staff Reporter January 20, 2013 4:48PM
Photo/Chicago Police Dept.
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Updated: January 20, 2013 9:51PM
Chicago police are looking for whoever damaged a statue of the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington in Bronzeville Saturday night.
The statue’s front panel containing a dedication placard was stolen sometime in the early hours of Sunday morning, said Jimalita Tillman, executive director of the Harold Washington Cultural Center at 47th and King Drive.
She called the timing of the damage to the statue of Chicago’s first black mayor – on the day of president Barack Obama’s second swearing in and services dedicated to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — “very disheartening.”
“The community’s upset about it,” she said.
The statue, which stands 7 ½ feet tall, was designed by sculptor Ed Dwight and unveiled in 2004.
Cultural center staff covered the damaged base with a board until the statue can be formally repaired this week, Tillman said.
“We are working hard to reinforce it so nothing further happens to the base of it,” she said.
Meanwhile Chicago Police detectives are reviewing security footage and asking anyone with information about the vandalism to call (312) 747-8380.
