Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday she “fully expects” the statue of Christopher Columbus to be returned to its pedestal in Grant Park, but not before a security plan is in place to prevent a repeat of the 2020 debacle that left dozens of ambushed police officers injured.
“I’m not gonna do anything that puts our officers in harm’s way. I will probably be forever haunted by the experience of the vigilantes, who attacked our officers in Grant Park that summer. Came armed with — not signs, but frozen water bottles, firecrackers and other things that severely wounded many of the police officers [who] were there,” the mayor said.
