Abraham Lincoln monument torched in Chicago: ‘An absolute disgraceful act’

Abraham Lincoln has joined George Washington on the list of those targeted by Chicagoans in a national debate over Civil War-era monuments.

Alderman Raymond Lopez took to Facebook Wednesday night to decry the defacing of a statue representing the nation’s 16th president in the Englewood neighborhood. The giant bust appears to have been damaged after someone in the 15th Ward sprayed and ignited a flammable liquid.

“What an absolute disgraceful act of vandalism. This bust of Abraham Lincoln, erected by Phil Bloomquist on August 31, 1926, was damaged & burned,” Mr. Lopez wrote, a local NBC affiliate reported. “If anyone has any information regarding this act, please contact the police or my office immediately.”

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“F- Abe Lincoln,” responded Quintin Mitchell, whose comment was “liked” or deemed “funny” by 160 others.

The official’s finding came just one day after President Trump stated opposition to tearing down memorials related to America’s past with slavery.

“I wonder is it George Washington next week and is it Thomas Jefferson the week after? You know, you really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop?” Mr. Trump asked reporters on Tuesday while addressing violence in Virginia.

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Heather Heyer, 32, was killed at Charlottesville protests over the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee last weekend. Police arrested suspect James Alex Fields, 20, after he accelerated his car into a crowd.

Bishop James E. Dukes of Chicago’s Liberation Christian Center responded to Mr. Trump’s comments by calling on Mayor Rahm Emanuel to rename Washington Park and remove a statue of the first U.S. president over his ties to slavery.

“It’s time,” Mr. Dukes wrote on his Facebook page, The Washington Times reported. “Please read my letter to Mayor Rahm Emanuel and The Chicago Park District. I’m calling on them to change the names of Washington and Jackson Park. Slave owners do not deserve the honor of our children playing in parks named after them. There is no way a Native American Community would allow a General Custer Park or a Jewish Community allow a Gestapo Park in their community.”