The Northern Illinois Veterans Memorial in Kirkland has been desecrated over the past couple of years. Name panels have been ripped off, gang graffiti sprayed on the wall of the memorial, etchings ripped off, damage to the corners by skateboarders, and reports from the police chief of Kirkland of people climbing on the top of the wall desecrating the memorial in even more horrible ways that we won’t mention.
We’ve included a couple of pictures at the end of this article, of the memorial taken by Lisa Wilcox at the Veteran’s Day celebration yesterday.
Next May, the Northern Illinois Veterans Memorial will be celebrating 20 yrs. The NI Veterans Committee wants to make Memorial Day special to commemorate this milestone. If you are as outraged as we are about the condition of our Veterans Memorial, help us help the Northern Illinois Veterans Committee raise funds to purchase security cameras and to repair this beautiful memorial honoring our county’s veterans. This memorial was built for and by DeKalb County citizens and should be considered a treasured landmark.
The committee is in the process of gathering quotes for the repair of the memorial. The committee would like to raise money for the repair of the memorial as well as the purchase and installation of security cameras. They have been working with local police departments about the mechanics of monitoring security cameras for the past several months and now feel that the monitoring can be done if the funds were available to purchase the cameras. If you would like to help, send checks to Northern Illinois Memorial Fund, c/o Alpine Bank, 306 W. Main St., Kirkland, Il. 60146.
Click Here To Submit A News Tip Or Story
5 Comments
As a committee member and supporter from day one, I am shocked at the way this beautiful memorial has been treated. No one has more respect for our veterans than I. I t has been said that I don't think the damage is a "big deal." I am very sorry if someone took my comments this way. I have worked very hard to see that the police department is aware of damage…to stop and question anyone on a bike…skateboard…or just plain old hanging around with no purpose. As mayor of Kirkland, I am very proud when people from various parts of the State Of Illinois, tell me they visited the memorial and how beautiful it is. Please become a friend of the memorial and help be the eyes and ears of the people who love this treasure we can call our very own…Thank you…Les Bellah
Thank you Sam, I will be in touch.
Security cameras alone are not a solution, except that they may help in apprehension if they are properly maintained to current court standards. I would recommend a full review of the monument in terms of three areas: 1) Natural Surveillance; 2) Territorial Definition; and 3) Natural Access Control. Physical maintenance and Order maintenance are also important.
One of the members of one of the organizations to which I belong had a similar problem in a park near downtown in London, Ontario a few years ago, and some rather amazing (and low or no cost) changes solved the problems in a short time. I also know of a similar problem in Russell, Ontario in the public housing units that was solved for a lot less money than expected, but did include some rolled shirt sleeves.
I do security consulting all of the time, and I can look at this, too, if someone wants to meet with me there. Check my background on the internet at Google. I can help you, if you want my help. No charge to a community organization, as ASIS International encourages us to be involved in our communities to retain CPP designation and certification.
Thank you for doing this article guys. It really bothers me to see the memorial in this state. I also talked to some folks on the committee and donations can be mailed to:
Northern IL Veterans Memorial
Attn: Pat Brennan
PO BOX 139
Kirkland, IL 60146-0139
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
I am a Littlejohn whos grandfather is Jack Littlejohn. the same as the name on this memorial. The other Littlejohns listed are also relatives. I was looking to see if I could actually identify each one of my relatives listed on the memorial besides just by thier names because with all the cousins of two generations there are similar names which arent on the memorial. Now I see someone dissgraced the site. Im from Rockford and we have many sites like this around town along with many dissrespectful youth. Yet our memorials havent been vandilized like this. Its sad. This kind of thing can be taken personally by anyone who has had family who served. I hope it stops because its dissrespectfull to those who risked thier lives to give these youth thier freedom. I also was hoping someone could point me in the direction of finding out exactly who the veterans listed are.