Elgin veterans memorial plans are back on schedule

The devil may ultimately be in the details.

But for now, members of the Elgin veterans memorial committee are getting exactly what they asked for.

Committee members, together with city and library officials, are planning a ceremonial groundbreaking for the veterans memorial on Nov. 11 -- Veterans Day.

That had been the plan all along. But in July, committee members learned they might have to delay the ceremony because of environmental contamination at their site.

The group appears to be back on schedule, however, because of plans to move the memorial closer to Gail Borden Public Library and off the contaminated site.

"This is something that's near and dear to a lot of people," said Jack Cook, head of the memorial committee. "We're going to push to get the darn thing done by the 11th of November next year."

The groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for 11 a.m. next to the library, 270 N. Grove Ave.

Although the ceremony is expected to go ahead as planned, the library board still has to approve the memorial plans, said Carole Medal, the library's executive director.

"The board is supportive of this," Medal said. "Knowing how important and historic the Nov. 11 date is, we'll certainly go ahead and have a groundbreaking.

"(But) no formal action has been taken on the board's part because we do not have a final plan yet," she said. "It's difficult to determine the amount of land that's truly going to be needed until we have a final design."

The veterans committee does have design plans, but they may have to be tweaked depending on the makeup of the site, Elgin spokeswoman Sue Olafson said.

"I think that the essence of that plan will essentially remain the same," Olafson said. "Obviously they have to take a look at whatever site happens, and look at the scale it provides."

Members of the veterans committee, however, would rather the memorial is built as it was designed, Cook said.

"This is an endeavor that we put together," Cook said. "We're going to try to keep it that way without any real physical changes."