DIXON, Ill. (AP) — A plan to erect a statute of President Ronald Reagan as a young lifeguard is on hold in his hometown.
The Chicago Tribune reports Dixon Mayor Jim Burke was leading the effort to place a statue along the Rock River. But Burke died in February, and the project has stalled.
John Weitzel is a lifelong resident of Dixon, where Reagan worked as a lifeguard for seven summers. He says the statue would be “wonderful” but no one else is leading the effort. Weitzel says “it’s a shame.”
Burke raised about $7,000 toward what’s estimated to be a $200,000 project. Dixon, about 100 miles west of Chicago, already has two Reagan statues.
