Mother Jones Chicago Statue Campaign
We Did It! Mother Jones Sculpture/Statue to be Located at Chicago's Iconic Water Tower
We've been waiting to announce this officially for too long. There have some negotiations and some wrinkles . But we did it, indeed.
Chicago's Water Tower is the most iconic old Chicago site in the city, and one of the most visited. Yet the park around it is small, intimate. This sculpture will signal that Chicago is a union town, that immigrants and working class built the city, and that we are part of a tradition of struggle.
It's taken us a long time to get here. We started fundraising with only a proposed location, and you had faith that we would come through. We accomplished this by organizing.
The protests over statues and memorials in the city put new policies into place through the Chicago Monuments Project. We had to revise our tentative agreements with the city. One element was agreeing to a new vetting process for artists to submit proposals.
Our new schedule calls for the final artistic renditions to be completed by this summer. After that, it will be just a short time.
The official name of the project is Mother Jones "We Shall Rise". The completion of the project will be a joint effort of the MJHP and the Chicago Monuments Project.
Why A Mother Jones Chicago Statue
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The government of Ireland seeded this project with $36,000 grant. We need to raise a total of $200,000. Please give generously.
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We have applied for locations on Wacker, near Michigan, but have not officially been granted a permit. We have support from Alderman Brendan Reilly for this project.
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Imagine, "Let's meet at the Mother Jones statue!"
There are hardly any sculptures of women historical figures in the city of Chicago.
Let's put this iconic Irish immigrant refugee and founder of the American labor movement--the Mother of the working class--on a statue in the city she called home.
Make a Tax Deductible Donation to the Statue Campaign
We are a 501-c-3, so your donation is charitable.
We have raised $123,500 as of 3/12/2023.
Target amount: $200,000
send checks to: Mother Jones Statue Fund,
630 Joanne Lane, Dekalb, Illinois 60115
Meet our Donors
Checks: Mother Jones Statue Fund, Wintrust Bank, 4343 W. Peterson Avenue, Chicago IL 60646
Checks with correspondence: send to Mother Jones Statue Fund, 630 Joanne Lane, DeKalb, Illinois, 60115.
Artists Request for Qualifications
The City of Chicago issued a call for artists for this major commission. See this document for full information. It is downloadable, or you can scroll through it here and then visit their site for more information.
Meet our Honorary Co-Chairs
Daniel Mulhall, Ireland's Ambassador to the United States
Cecil Roberts, President of the United Mine Workers of America
Sarah Nelson, President, Association of Flight Attendants-CWA
Terry O'Sullivan, Laborers' International of North America
