Veterans memorial no place for peace
By LISA BLACK
Chicago Tribune
Published: November 21, 2011
CHICAGO - Shortly after 19-year-old Geoffrey Morris died in 2004 as a Marine fighting in Iraq, his father considered turning the family's sprawling backyard in Gurnee into a memorial wildlife sanctuary.
It would be only fitting, Kirk Morris thought, since his son had spent so much time there playing paintball with friends, several of whom joined the military in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The father's idea soon grew into something much larger after village officials offered the use of public land for a veterans memorial and then celebrated the groundbreaking with an appearance by then-Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn in spring 2005.
But today, work on the Heroes of Freedom Memorial has stalled and is the subject of a lawsuit that some blame on a political dispute between Mayor Kristina Kovarik and Kirk Morris, now a trustee on the village board.
After private donors contributed an estimated $270,000 in materials and services toward the memorial, Kovarik stopped the project, saying the foundation's plan was not in the village's "best interests." The village turned off the lights and removed flags from nine flagpoles at the site, 4580 Old Grand Ave. That was two years ago.
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