Despite controversy, Woodstock to honor Eugene V. Debs with Old Courthouse plaque

WOODSTOCK – The city plans to recognize socialist leader and civil rights activist Eugene V. Debs with a $1,500 plaque on the Old Courthouse, despite some concern that the association will scare off donors.

Debs founded the Socialist Party of America, was a five-time presidential candidate and was president of the American Railway Union.

He was imprisoned at the McHenry County Jail in Woodstock for six months after disobeying a court order that tried to stop him from leading a railway worker strike.

The Woodstock City Council plans to honor his memory with a plaque, but the nonprofit group Friends of the Old Courthouse is against the idea. The organization has said it will make it more difficult to secure funds for the restoration of the historic buildings.

Read more: http://www.nwherald.com/2017/06/02/despite-controversy-woodstock-to-honor-eugene-v-debs-with-old-courthouse-plaque/aep68l1/

Note: I'm posting this article for its historical value, not to advocate for the Socialist Party of America.