Tree with memorial for Elgin boy will remain standing

The mother of an Elgin boy who died more than four years ago was relieved to hear a tree that holds a memorial for him will remain intact.

Gerardo "Lalo" Simental's family had been worried about the fate of the large tree since last summer, when it looked like it might have to be cut down to relocate a dumpster. A decision by the planning and zoning commission Monday does not affect the tree, city officials and the property owner said.

"That makes me happy," said Lalo's mother, Elizabeth Burnette, when told of the news Wednesday.

Lalo was 12 and lived nearby when he died in January 2015 while running across Route 20. The memorial, made of white crosses, photographs and flowers, is at the base of the tree and marks the spot where he crossed into the road off Main Lane and Kathleen Drive, just north of Route 20.

The flap started in June 2018 when Lalo's relatives found on the memorial a handwritten note in Spanish asking for the items to be removed, or they would be tossed in the garbage. The unsigned note came with the phone number for Manjunath Ramanna of R & R Luxury Realty, which owns the apartment complex nearby on the 300 block of Kathleen Drive.

Ramanna said he had no idea who wrote the note, which he called "not civil," but did say the tree might have to be cut down. A nearby dumpster had been placed without proper approval, so the city told Ramanna he would need to get a variation and propose alternate locations. The spot where the tree stands appeared to be the only feasible alternative, Ramanna said at the time.

The issue was resolved Monday when the city's planning and zoning commission approved a variation allowing the dumpster to stay if Ramanna builds a brick enclosure around it and adds landscaping to the southern edge of the parking lot.

The decision by the commission is final and requires no further city council approval, city senior planner Damir Latinovic said. The memorial was not discussed at the meeting and anything the property owner chooses to do with the tree is up to him, Latinovic said.

At most, some tree branches will have to be trimmed, Ramanna said. "I was going to do everything possible in my powers" to make sure the tree - and the memorial - would stay standing, he said.

Burnette said the memorial means a lot to her and her other children.

"I try to go there at least once every two weeks. Sometimes I find myself there more. I pick up trash, broken glass; I try to clean up so it doesn't end up an eyesore," she said. "The kids go there more than I do. It's their safe haven."