Naperville Park Board supports of America250 plaque despite concerns the idea was scrapped
The Naperville Park Board is interested in installing a plaque celebrating America’s 250th anniversary — donated by the Naperville’s Fort Payne Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution — at a local park, despite public concern that commissioners opposed the idea.
Board members unanimously supported working with DAR in Naperville on bringing the commemorative marker to town at a meeting last week.
Approval came after more than a dozen DAR members, veterans and residents spoke in support of the plaque. Comments were spurred by confusion going into the meeting that board commissioners had already voted the matter down or didn’t want it.
“I feel that the donation would not have been accepted had we not showed up with a large presence,” Jill Brewer, chapter regent for the Fort Payne DAR Chapter, said, adding that, “Ultimately, we’re happy that they’re going to work (with us) … but it’s a shame that we had to go just to defend patriotism.”
America turns 250 years old on July 4, 2026. Plans to celebrate the country’s big day have been in the works for the better part of a decade. In 2016, Congress established the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission to facilitate countrywide plans for celebrating the anniversary.
To date, the national commemoration, dubbed America250, has amassed dozens of partnering organizations and groups, from state commissions — Illinois included — to federal agencies to join forces on celebration goals.
DAR is an America250 partner. Founded in 1890, DAR is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person who was involved in the American Revolution.
The nonprofit’s mission is to prompt historic preservation, education and patriotism, according to its website.
To help with America250 efforts, DAR has launched a number of commemorative initiatives — including America250 “Patriots Markers” that the organization hopes to see at sites across the country.
Wanting the permanent placard to have a presence locally, Naperville’s Fort Payne Chapter contacted the Naperville Park District to propose its donation of an America250 plaque for placement in an area park. Three parks were suggested: Burlington Square, Veterans Park or Central Park by the Veterans’ Valor statue.
The district first considered the matter at a Feb. 8 meeting of the Parks and Recreation Committee, composed of a subset of park board members and staff. That’s where confusion started.
During committee discussions, there were some questions from members in regards to how an America250 plaque would fit in with the district’s mission as well as some conversations around whether the district should have a policy in place that would set procedures for accepting these kinds of donations, district Executive Director Brad Wilson said.
District committees do not have the authority to make final decisions and can only make recommendations to the full board. Wilson said there was no committee recommendation on the America250 marker before it went to the full board for discussion.
Between Feb. 8 and last week’s Feb. 22 meeting, however, some “incorrect information (got) out in the community” on where the district stood on Fort Payne’s proposed donation, Wilson said.
“(It was) that there had already been a vote by the Naperville Park District commissioners and that the plaque donation was not approved by a vote of five opposed out of the seven commissioners, and that just simply was not correct,” he said. “There had been no vote. There had not even been a full discussion or presentation of the potential donation with the entire board.”
Brewer said she “wasn’t part of that confusion” but that she still had concerns over the prospect of her chapter’s donation because commissioners “had met in a committee meeting and that there were enough opposed to it (that) our donation was in jeopardy of being declined at the board meeting.”
The uncertainty of how an America250 marker would fare with the full board encouraged some 15 speakers to tell commissioners why the plaque would be a valuable and fitting addition to the community.
“This is a marker that’s not just in Naperville,” former Fort Payne Chapter regent Wrenne Jakubiak said. “It’s across the United States, in cities, counties, states, all across here. … It’s a marker with 250 on it that I would like, proudly, to be displayed in our community because that’s who we are.”
“I just hope that you understand what America250 represents to all of us,” Fort Payne Chapter member Candice Peel said.
Jennifer Sloan, a Naperville resident and Marine Corps reservist, told the board that she wasn’t concerned with initial opposition but about what commissioners do going forward.
“As you can see from the immense support that we received here, it is important to our community. It’s important to our veterans, to our nation’s history. … You’ve got a plethora of support,” she said.
Commissioners expressed disappointment over any confusion or concerns that had surfaced in the community and assured their support for the America250 plaque.
“I just hope you did not come here under any false pretenses that somehow this was going to be a fight or somehow people were against you, against veterans,” commissioner Rhonda Ansier said. “That is not at all the case, and I regret if that was any impression anyone got.”
Ansier, who is chair of the district’s parks and rec committee, explained that during initial discussions, she didn’t have a “whole lot of information” and she didn’t see how an America250 plaque connected to the district’s work.
But after public comment last week, she gave her support “having all the information” that she had now, she said.
Board Vice President Leslie Ruffing said she was “really sad and really disappointed that there (had) been these assumptions made about those of us who absolutely had some concerns before we had all this information.”
She encouraged community members to reach out to the board if they have questions because “having this information, having this engagement is hugely helpful to us.”
Looking ahead, district staff will work with DAR representatives on an agreement for the America250 plaque donation, Wilson said.
An agreement will be brought back to the board for formal approval within the next few months, he said.
