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The Demeter statue will be on the new judicial center lawn in Ogle County.
The first time they voted on it, in February, the vote was 16-6 in favor. When the right-wing religious started their pressure, a motion was made to rescind the acceptance of the statue.
It turns out that the religious right in the county was used very cynically. The county board member who wanted the statue rescinded went to them and asked them to object. He did not do it for noble reasons, but because he was against the new courthouse from the beginning. He wanted to build a Morton building, or nothing at all. He has tried to obstruct anything connected with the new building.
Anyway, the name of the statue was changed, so the guy had to withdraw his motion. The new motion to accept the statue with the new name passed 11-9. It was close. That is what pressure will do.
The board member who wanted the fictitious Madison quote on a plaque with the Ten Commandments has agreed to table his motion until he does more research. I worked closely with him, because he was getting the votes for the statue. I think he will find that the Ten Commandments don't belong in a government building. Another reason he backed off is that TV stations in Rockford started calling him. One well-placed tip did the trick.
I hope we have seen the last of this. I hope the religious right will find some new thing to yelp about. Those of us who wanted the statue worked hard on its behalf.
The religious right never learns. They allowed themselves to be used in this case, and they ended up with nothing. How many times does this have to happen to them?
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