SPRINGFIELD – Senate President Don Harmon released the following statement after the board of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol voted to remove statues of Stephen Douglas and Pierre Menard from the Capitol grounds:

“The decision to remove these statues and give Dr. King’s statue a rightful place on the Capitol grounds is certainly a step in the right direction. It is also the beginning of what I hope to be a longer conversation about how we can do better to accurately represent our state’s past. I thank members of our caucus for bringing these concerns to light.”