John M. Palmer

John M. Palmer began his political career as a Democrat but became an outspoken critic against slavery and helped create the Republican Party in 1856. After serving as a general in the Civil War and military governor of Kentucky, he was elected in 1868 a Republican Governor of Illinois. On March 11, 1891, on the 154th ballot, the General Assembly elected Palmer a Democratic U.S. Senator. Among those in attendance at the Oct. 16, 1923, dedication of the statue was Palmer’s daughter, State Historian Mrs. Jessie Palmer Weber. Sculptor: Leonard Crunelle, 1923