Streator statue memorializes labor leader

STREATOR — A statue by artist and sculptor Lonnie Stewart unveiled Sunday in Streator will become a lasting reminder of the efforts of a Streator labor leader who served nine terms in the statehouse. Reuben G. Soderstrom, who died in 1970, is credited with facilitating the merger of the AFL-CIO and with advancing child labor laws in the 20th century.

Speakers at the ceremony after the Labor Day parade in Streator included Mayor Jimmie Lansford, Reuben’s great-grandson Steve Soderstrom who served as master of ceremonies, Reuben’s grandson, Dr. Carl Soderstrom, AFL-CIO representatives and longtime business manager for the Laborers local David Raikes.

The statue by Stewart duplicated a pose from a 1920 photo of Soderstrom speaking from a truck bed in Mendota while campaigning with Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the statue’s hand is a gavel, to illustrate Soderstrom’s 40 years as union president.

While the memorial plaza is not yet complete, landscape architect Jeff Bergfeld of Henry described it as a circular area contained by C-walls adorned with plaques bearing Soderstrom quotes, comments about him and a poem about Streator, his hometown.

Members of Laborers Local 393 helped set the statue and construct the plaza. Also contributing to the project were Electricians Local 176, Plumbers 130, Cement Masons II, Operating Engineers 150, Teamsters 722, Bricklayers 6, Bricklayers 21 and Illinois Valley Building Trades.