{"id":50135,"date":"2026-04-16T18:46:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T18:46:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/50135\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T18:46:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T18:46:42","slug":"discussions-for-tree-plaque-at-kane-courthouse-continue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/50135\/","title":{"rendered":"Discussions for tree, plaque at Kane courthouse continue"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kane County is continuing to discuss plans to build a commemorative garden outside the county\u2019s Geneva courthouse<\/a> featuring an elm tree donated by the local Daughters of the American Revolution and a plaque acknowledging several Revolutionary War patriots buried in the county.<\/p>\n

The project, meant to celebrate the United States\u2019 250th birthday, has generated some concern among board members, and a vote on an official measure recommending a concept plan and budget estimate for the square has now been tabled until May.<\/p>\n

In November, Kane County accepted<\/a> a historical marker and \u201cLiberty Tree\u201d from the Elias Kent Kane Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, meant to celebrate the country\u2019s 250th anniversary and honor<\/a> several Revolutionary War veterans who settled in Kane County and who are buried within its borders.<\/p>\n

When the donation was accepted by the county, the proposed location for the historical marker and tree \u2014 an American elm which was grown from seed since last spring \u2014 was<\/a> the Kane County Courthouse at 100 S. Third St. in Geneva.<\/p>\n

Since then, the county has been deciding exactly where at the courthouse the tree and plaque should be placed.<\/p>\n

The area in front of the courthouse building along Third Street had originally been considered<\/a>, but it was decided the abundance of trees there would make for difficult growing conditions for the new sapling.<\/p>\n

From there, the county landed on<\/a> a spot in the middle of the parking lot behind the courthouse, proposing a central square be made around the tree in that location, a pitch that has generated some pushback from board members.<\/p>\n

Describing the suggested parking lot location, Kane County\u2019s Executive Director of Information Technologies and Buildings Management Roger Fahnestock said at a recent Executive Committee meeting that the proposed square gives the tree more room to grow and not be disrupted by existing trees. The county worked with its staff and an arborist to identify possible locations, he said, and consulted with the Morton Arboretum in Lisle.<\/p>\n

The site is also in close proximity to another proposed county project<\/a>: a neutral space for supervised parenting time and child exchanges for families involved in court proceedings. Fahnestock noted that the garden space could be used by those working in family courts.<\/p>\n

The county is currently working on plans for the site, as well as looking to fundraise and seek donations for the project, according to Fahnestock.<\/p>\n

But, with the United States\u2019 250th coming up in July, the county is under some time pressure to make a decision.<\/p>\n

Fahnestock said at the meeting that the current plan is to have a groundbreaking or ceremonial event for the square and tree this coming July, perhaps accompanied by a naming competition or time capsule. Construction would follow, with plans to complete the project in 2028.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, the county will be planting the tree at the county\u2019s government building, with cameras and steps taken to protect it from wildlife, according to Kane County Board Chair Corinne Pierog.<\/p>\n

At the recent meeting, during which no official measure was voted on, board members asked questions about aspects of the project, with some expressing concern about the proposed courthouse site.<\/p>\n

Board member Bill Roth, for example, asked about the soil below the parking lot, which Fahnestock said has been considered. And board member Mavis Bates asked if American elm trees are susceptible to Dutch elm disease, to which Fahnestock said there are steps the county could take like using insecticide or fungicide, doing regular inspections and planting the tree away from existing elm trees so disease doesn\u2019t spread.<\/p>\n

Board member Leslie Juby asked about the estimated cost, expressing concern about the possible financial implications of the project since the county had received the tree as a donation and had not expected the project to cost anything out of its pockets.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd, now we\u2019re being asked to approve a plan without the money in place,\u201d Juby said.<\/p>\n

Board member Michelle Gumz similarly emphasized that, though the board voted to accept the donation, \u201cyou cannot associate that vote \u2026 with what we may or may not plan to do in the future\u201d with the project.<\/p>\n

At the meeting, Fahnestock estimated the total project could come to around $600,000.<\/p>\n

Pierog, however, reiterated the county\u2019s plans to get materials and labor donated, but said she \u201cdid not want to jump ahead with\u201d pursuing donations \u201cuntil the concept plan was approved of by committee, and then accepted by the board.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, the topic came up again at the county board\u2019s Administration Committee meeting on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

At that meeting, Fahnestock reiterated the county\u2019s intention to fund the project by donations, and said the county is looking to have an architect and engineering firm donate planning services so that vendors and donors could see a design for the project.<\/p>\n

But those plans haven\u2019t been done yet, he said, as the county is looking for the board\u2019s approval of the location and concept first, and to OK a budget estimate for the project and the plan to raise funds and donations.<\/p>\n

On the question of location, Juby said the board hadn\u2019t been given an alternate location proposal and asked if the county would not pursue the project at all if the board didn\u2019t approve of the current plans.<\/p>\n

Fahnestock said it\u2019s up to the board, and that county staff had been asked to find the best location at the courthouse. He explained that American elm trees are \u201cvery hearty trees\u201d and can be planted in many places, but reiterated the concerns about the tree canopy in the front of the courthouse and noted that opting for that location would also make having the commemorative square idea impossible.<\/p>\n

Approval of a concept plan and budget estimate for the site had been put on the meeting\u2019s agenda, but Fahnestock, at Wednesday\u2019s meeting, said a formal resolution wasn\u2019t ready for discussion or a vote. The matter was ultimately postponed until May.<\/p>\n

mmorrow@chicagotribune.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kane County is continuing to discuss plans to build a commemorative garden outside the county\u2019s Geneva courthouse featuring…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33230,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[65,19706,28704,898],"class_list":{"0":"post-50135","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-geneva","8":"tag-geneva","9":"tag-kane-county-board","10":"tag-kane-county-commemorative-garden","11":"tag-kane-county"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116415875350697409","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}