Quincy Reporter

The debate over appropriate statues in Illinois cities and critical race theory continues to rage among politicians on a local and national scale.

A new task force was recently convened to weigh in on the question of which statutes should stay or go across Springfield. And in Chicago, the Chicago Monuments Advisory Committee is deciding if statues of such historical figures as Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, George Washington and William McKinley should continue to stand as Mayor Lori Lightfoot ponders whether they "memorialize our shared values, history and heritage as Chicagoans."

Republican state Rep. Tim Butler recently told WTVO, "Instead of having mobs tearing down statues, we need to come up with a sober process to evaluate these folks."

On a national front, WTVO adds that states including Ohio, North Carolina and Tennessee have also initiated similar task forces to tackle the job of studying the history and character of historical figures honored hundreds of years ago.

“The Democratic Party had doubled down on what I consider this shameful history by replacing the racism of the past with the racism of critical race theory," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy recently said from the House Floor, KHQA reported.

His fiery words followed a vote on legislation to remove confederate statues in the U.S. Capitol.

"America must reject critical race theory for the simple reason that racism is wrong and always will be," he said.

On the other side of the aisle, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said, "I think using this issue as a political kind of discussion as wrong. All of us should know the history of our country and we should know that history and how we have evolved."