Storm damages Bond Monument

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Storms came through Randolph County this past weekend causing major damage to an area landmark.

The Bond Monument in Evergreen Cemetery was heavily damaged when the top of the monument came crashing to the ground and broke in half. The monument resides over the burial place of Illinois' first Governor, Shadrach Bond.

According to Chester Mayor Marty Bert representatives for the state have been contacted and he is waiting to hear back from them.

"We have moved the broken pieces of the monument to our shop in Evergreen Cemetery until we hear back from the state," Mayor Mary Bert said.

City Superintendent Kevin Diercks met with area State Park Officials on Tuesday. According to the Mayor's Secretary Teri Crum the men were on site to gain measurements on the sphere of the monument.

The monument was originally erected by authority of the Illinois Legislature in an act approved May 28, 1881. The plot of ground has often been referred to as "the smallest state park in Illinois."