(John O’Connor/The Associated Press)

ILLINOIS STATE CAPITOL STATUE OF
STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS
The Illinois General Assembly appropriated funds in 1913 to erect
statues of Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln, which stand in a line
about 35 yards (32 meters) apart on the walkway to the Capitol’s east
entrance. Here’s the background of the Douglas statue.
Artist: Gilbert P. Riso.
Fabricator: State records indicate that both T.E. McCann and Sons, Co., Boston,
Massachusetts, Florentine Brotherhood Foundry, Chicago, lay claim to having
created it.
Dedicated: Oct. 5, 1918 at a spot north of the Lincoln statue on the Capitol lawn.

 Relocated: In 1935, Secretary of State Edward J. Hughes, finding the location
obscured by shrubbery, ordered the Douglas statue moved to its current location
and rededicated. The statue of the coal miner, installed in 1964, stands in the
original Douglas spot.
Cost: $25,000 (the equivalent of $430,000 in 2020).
Material: Cast bronze.
Size: Height, approximately 9 feet (2.7 meters), weight, estimated at 600 to 700
pounds (272 to 318 kilograms).
Pedestal: Unpolished granite.
Inscription:
STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS
“Tell them to obey the laws and support the Constitution of the United States.”
(Douglas’ dying message to his children, June 3, 1861)

SOURCE: Office of the Architect of the Capitol