90-Year-Old Bust of Abe Lincoln Destroyed in Chicago Neighborhood

A ninety-year-old bust of Abraham Lincoln, our sixteenth president, was destroyed in a South Side Chicago neighborhood overnight on Wednesday.

15th Ward Alderman Raymond Lopez criticized the destruction of the statue in a Facebook post on Wednesday evening.

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

The bust is located near 69th Street and Wolcott in Chicago’s Englewood district on the city’s Near South Side. Phil Bloomquist erected the tribute to Lincoln on Aug. 31, 1926.

Along with the destruction of the face of the statue, vandals spray pained “F**k Law” on the base.

Alderman Lopez’ Facebook page erupted with attacks on Lincoln and his legacy with few defending him as the Great Emancipator that helped put an end to chattel slavery of black people at the end of the Civil War.

Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865, by the Southern actor John Wilkes Booth, who was angry at Lincoln for freeing the slaves and defeating the Confederate secessionists.

Lincoln is called the Great Emancipator because he signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 to abolished slavery in the rebellious Southern states during the Civil War. This courageous political decision was the first step in the eventual full abolition of slavery with the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment.

The destruction of the 90-year-old statue lends credence to President Donald Trump’s contention that left-wing activists will never be happy with merely destroying Confederate statues.

In a recent press conference, the president wondered, “This week it’s Robert E. Lee. I noticed that Stonewall Jackson is coming down. 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.”

Indeed, in the same city where the Lincoln bust was destroyed, activists were agitating to rid the city of parks and streets named after Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson among others.

The Chicago police have not released a statement on the incident, and have told the media they have launched an investigation.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.