Schaumburg changing planned plaza honoring first attorney
Schaumburg trustees expect to approve revisions Dec. 13 to the proposed Jack Siegel Memorial Plaza just outside the Robert O. Atcher Municipal Center.
Officials agreed at a recent committee meeting that changes in building materials and design improved the appearance of the memorial honoring Schaumburg's first village attorney. They also lowered the expected cost slightly from $26,500 to $26,000.
Siegel served Schaumburg for more than 50 years until his death in September 2014. His long association with the village began with his successful defense of Schaumburg's incorporation against a developer's lawsuit in the late 1950s.
The proposed memorial plaza consists of a small seating area along low intersecting stone walls in a grassy area just outside the southeast entrance to village hall.
Village trustees had criticized the initial design of the plaza primarily because the stone walls were to be made of two different materials. They agreed that the revised plan to make all the walls from simulated Lannon stone created a more attractive, unified look.
They also were pleased that the backing for the plaque chronicling Siegel's contributions to the village is now to be made from prefinished concrete rather than a rougher type of stone.
The tree currently in the area where the plaza would go is in decline and will be replaced by a new shade tree, Schaumburg Landscape & Design Planner Todd Wenger said.
Plans also call for a light to be situated closer to the parking lot than the building. And the village's One Percent for Art Committee will be researching options for a sculpture reflecting Siegel's love of reading - likely a representation of a stack of books and a copy of his own briefcase.
The plaza - minus the sculpture initially - is expected to be built during the spring or summer of 2017, Wenger said.