Courthouse gets carved
By Michael Johnson, Editor
While the start of demolition was scheduled over a month ago, it was still as shocking as ever for spectators who stood by while a large cable and backhoe worked to tear the historic McLean County Courthouse tower to the snow-covered ground on Friday afternoon. It took not only a wrecking ball to weaken the structure, but a cable pulled by a back hoe to pull the tower down. Once the brick tower and radio tower were removed, the backhoe was able to go to work over the weekend ripping the building down. For county employees, who made up the majority of the viewing audience on Thursday, it was a bittersweet day. “It is sad,” county maintenance supervisor Curt Malo said. He’s been working for the county maintenance for about 10 years and could recall several efforts to save the old building in the past that solved some but not all problems. One included the very area the wrecking ball was impacting, near the soffit on the tower. He recalls it being full of bird nests because there was no soffit.
