Chicago City Wire

Illinois GOP Chairman Don Tracy is doing all he can to highlight what he sees as the differences between his party and Democrats in Springfield.

“Democrats are angry culture warriors who want to smash our history, tear down statues, decriminalize hard drugs, defund the police and mandate gender studies for kindergartners,” Tracy posted on Facebook. “Republicans love America, love their neighbors and love life. Join us - help us stop the crazies and make Illinois a great place to live again.”

Tracy and Republicans' latest outrage stems from the push to remove statues of four former U.S presidents prompted by “hard truths of Chicago’s racial history.”

The plan has the support of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who recently had statues of Christopher Columbus removed.  She said the statues were removed to prevent possible vandalism.

Reports are the four former presidents that are now targeted for removal include George Washington, William McKinley, Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant. In addition, the Chicago Monuments Project recently began reviewing more than 500 statues around the city that were either considered problematic, offensive or didn’t represent equity and justice, the news media reported.

“Given the past year and in particular the past summer that made clear history isn’t past, it is essential that residents are a part of this conversation,” Lightfoot said in a news release. “This project is about more than a single statue or mural, it’s about channeling our city’s dynamic civic energy to permanently memorialize our shared values, history and heritage as Chicagoans in an open and democratic way.”

According to the Sun-Times, the statues and monuments now on the list are there because they are perceived to promote white supremacy, inaccurate or demeaning portrayals of Native Americans or the subjects' racist acts or genocide.