Black Hawk statue repairs on hold in dispute over process

OREGON, Ill. (AP) - Repairs are on hold to the 105-year-old Black Hawk statue that overlooks the Rock River in northern Illinois.

Sauk Valley Media reports (http://bit.ly/1USaC1y ) that the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is looking for a general contractor to replace Forest Park conservator Andrzej Dajnowski. Dajnowski says he declined to sign the contract the IDNR sent him for this year because it stipulated repairs be done in a certain way.

Dajnowski says the department hired an engineer who wanted to remove more of the statue's surface than is necessary. The engineer, Amy Lamb Woods, referred questions to the Natural Resources Department, which says no timeline has been established for when work might resume.

The statue was created in 1910 as a tribute to Native Americans. Time and weather have caused parts of it to crumble.

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Information from: Dixon Telegraph, http://www.saukvalley.com