America’s 250th anniversary festivities have come and gone, but Kane County is still mulling over what it will do with an elm tree and plaque from the local Daughters of the American Revolution that had initially been central to the county’s plans for celebrating the country’s semiquincentennial.
After plans to plant the tree outside the Geneva courthouse were shot down, the county is now looking at a new location, this time outside of the Kane County Judicial Center in St. Charles.
The county initially accepted a historical marker and “Liberty Tree” from the Elias Kent Kane Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, meant to celebrate the United States’ 250th birthday, in November.
The donation was intended to honor several Revolutionary War veterans who settled in Kane County and who are buried within its borders: William Bennett, who’s buried in Campton Hills; John Gowdy, buried in Batavia; Abner Powers, buried in Lily Lake; Frederick Vaughn, buried in Aurora; and John Finley, who died in St. Charles but whose burial location is unknown.
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When the donation was first accepted, the proposed location for the historical marker and tree — an American elm which was grown from seed since last spring — was the Kane County Courthouse at 100 S. Third St. in Geneva. Plans shifted from the front of the courthouse building to a spot in the middle of the parking lot behind the courthouse, but the suggested site — and possible costs — prompted pushback from the Kane County Board.
In April, a vote on an official measure recommending a concept plan and budget estimate was tabled until May. A proposal was brought to the full board in May so that the county could fundraise for the project, which was slated to include a central square around the tree in the parking lot median of the courthouse. The proposed budget was estimated at around $500,000 — with half of that planned to be paid for via fundraising, and half via in-kind contributions from contractors.
The county board, however, was unable to reach consensus about the location or plans for the proposed square, and the May discussion ended with the site plan getting voted down.
The county had been aiming to have a groundbreaking or ceremonial event for the “Declaration Square” in July as part of the 250th anniversary festivities, with plans to start construction after and complete the project in 2028.
But the anniversary came and went without the tree getting planted, and the square’s future remained up in the air.
Now, the board is again slated to consider a plan to plant the tree on county property, this time in St. Charles, at the county’s Judicial Center campus at 37W777 Route 38.
At the county board’s meeting on Tuesday, Kane County Board Chair Corinne Pierog said she spoke with the Kane County DAR chapter’s chair and inquired about the tree. The local chapter had been considering working with the city of St. Charles on a site for it, according to Pierog, who floated the Judicial Center campus idea.
Now, Pierog is pitching to the board the idea of planting the tree in a lawn area at the Judicial Center, at a much lower price point.
Under the new plans, the tree would be located adjacent to a “free speech zone” for public assembly, according to Pierog, outside the Judicial Center that was designated by Kane County Chief Judge Robert Villa in a recent general order.
The county would aim to plant the tree in the fall, Pierog said at Tuesday’s meeting, in time for a ribbon- cutting ceremony or celebration for Veterans Day on Nov. 11.
In an email Friday, the Elias Kent Kane Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution confirmed that it is considering the proposal to put the tree and historical marker at the Judicial Center campus in St. Charles.
The DAR chapter said it had begun exploring alternative locations in St. Charles after the board previously declined to move forward with the Geneva courthouse site, conversations which are still ongoing, and indicated it has not made a final decision on the location.
The plans presented at Tuesday’s board meeting estimate the project costing $1,000 for site preparation and $4,000 for a landscape wall. The county already has $500 from a donor for the original “Declaration Square” proposal who said the county could put the money toward a veterans memorial, Pierog told The Beacon-News, along with $3,000 budgeted for the project in the county’s budget.
Part of the benefit of the site, according to Pierog, is its permanency.
“This is an area that Kane County will have in perpetuity,” Pierog said at the county board meeting on Tuesday. “We’re not going to be selling it. Our buildings are there, our greatest assets are there.”
The location again generated discussion among the board on Tuesday, with some members seemingly in favor of the pitch, while others continued to express concern.
Board member Leslie Juby, for example, inquired about the planned site being part of a possible area for expansion from the county.
Roger Fahnestock, Kane County’s executive director of Information Technologies and Buildings Management, said that an expansion of the courthouse building had been considered there, but it is positioned differently in a more recent plan. However, that latter plan would mean a need for more parking, which could potentially impact the site under consideration.
Pierog said there is “some flexibility” as to moving the tree’s exact location on that site, and also indicated there’s another possible location for it on the Judicial Center campus.
Board member Michelle Gumz similarly questioned the proposed location, noting the possibility of a need for parking if the courthouse is expanded.
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“As much as I can appreciate the desire for this tree — and I do — we keep ending up with these locations that, in my personal opinion, are not sufficient for this tree,” Gumz said.
Other members of the board were more supportive of the proposed location.
Board member Deborah Allan, for example, said she did not want to see the green space by the Judicial Center turned into a parking lot because, when people come into the complex, it’s typically “a time with lots of things going on in your head.”
“I think that it’s worth it for us and our gravitas to have that site there,” Allan said, “and I would like to think of it being there forever. We have room to move, to expand, that I think is more appropriate.”
Board member Alex Arroyo also spoke in favor of maintaining the front lawn, and pointed to it functioning as the free speech zone outside the Judicial Center.
“We’re honoring our American ancestors with this tree,” Arroyo said. “I think it’s a perfect location for it.”
Likewise, board member Michael Linder said it would be “great to have a peaceful site” there.
“I am all in favor of preserving … the free speech zone, a place for the monument, a passive area that doesn’t make it look like we’re just all about judges and juries and police officers,” Linder said.
Following the discussion, Pierog asked for consensus about moving forward with the Judicial Center as the proposed site for the tree, and received the board’s consensus as it considers the exact location.
“We’re working it through,” Pierog told The Beacon-News on Wednesday. “Getting the tree in the ground is just the primary focus right now, and then we can work on everything else.”