Arts & Entertainment
Chicago Monument to Honor Pandemic Frontline Workers, People Who Died of COVID-19
According to the World Health Organization, more than 7 million people across the globe have died from COVID-19 since the virus was first declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020.
Chicago will soon be home to a global monument designed to honor those killed by the virus and pay tribute to frontline workers who risked their lives during the pandemic.
Sally Metzler, board chair of the COVID-19 Monument Commission, leads the project under the Hektoen Institute of Medicine. Metzler said the idea came to fruition for her during the pandemic.
“It was a great hardship for the entire world, but I learned through this hardship heroes emerged,” said Metzler. “There are the nurses, the doctors, all of the frontline health care workers, the delivery drivers, the bus drivers, those that prepared our go-to meals, the grocery store workers. They sacrificed for us, and this monument gives them a voice.”
The Illinois Medical District is collaborating with the commission and providing the project with a location to place the monument.
“We’ve always wanted to do a park,” said Allyson Hansen, CEO and executive director of the Illinois Medical District. “We wanted to create something green and beautiful here.”
Hansen described the one-acre triangle plot as the center of the district where all the hospitals can see into a space that acts as the back porch of Chicago where the community can come together and honor all frontline workers.
The 25-foot stainless steel monument titled “COVID-19 Memorial Monument of Honor, Remembrance & Resilience” will be located between Stroger Hospital and Jesse Brown VA Medical Center at 2023 W. Ogden Ave., near West Polk Street.
The unveiling of the park and statue are set for 2026.
(Courtesy of the COVID-19 Monument Commission)
(Courtesy of the COVID-19 Monument Commission)
(Courtesy of the COVID-19 Monument Commission)
The commission opened a competition to the world for artists to submit their designs for the monument with a chance to $20,000 if chosen. Casey Schachner, a sculptor and art professor at Georgia Southern University, created a dandelion design that spoke to the board.
“It features sculptures that are a hybrid of the COVID virus and the dandelion,” Metzler said. “It’s a visual metaphor for the virus, hope and resilience. The dandelion itself has many beautiful philosophical moments. It’s omnipresent throughout the world, just like COVID-19 was.”
Opening the competition to the entire world was the commission’s first attempt at making this project as inclusive as possible. There is also a virtual memory garden on covidmemorialmonument.org, in an effort to share and build on the momentum of recognizing frontline workers. People can put up a tribute on the site to a loved one who was lost or to a frontline worker.
Hansen said the Illinois Medical District is more than hospitals and universities — it’s also a community. They pride themselves on listening to members’ needs and wants at various public engagement sessions. During those open conversations, the district was able to form stronger relationships and form the best practices at the height of the pandemic.
The Illinois Medical District is hosting a special public engagement session on March 18 from 4-6 p.m. at 2100 W. Harrison St. to discuss the new park coming to West Ogden. Community members will have a chance to voice what they want from the park and get a better idea of plans to come.
“This is an opportunity for us all to come together not only to honor what happened in the past, but look to the future and talk about wellness and talk about continuing to be a community together,” Hansen said. “This park will allow us that opportunity.”
