The last in a long line of Illinois politicians carrying the Stevenson name, “Adlai III” as his campaign buttons declared, died last week in Chicago. Hopefully he did so knowing his father’s historic home in Mettawa will not only be saved, but renovated.
Until this spring, there was doubt the one-time home of Adlai E. Stevenson II on St. Mary’s Road, just south of Route 60, would be around much longer after Lake County Forest Preserves District commissioners questioned the million-dollar cost to repair the aging 80-year-old building. The elder Stevenson was a former Illinois governor, who died in 1965.
He occupied the home during his two presidential runs in 1952 and 1956, when he was the “Man from Libertyville.” He lost both times to Republican Dwight Eisenhower.
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Stevenson II gave up another presidential run in 1960 and was named U.N. ambassador by President John F. Kennedy in the early 1960s, where his statesmanship showed during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire is named for him.
Adlai III, the fourth generation of a long line of Democrat officeholders (his grandfather, Adlai I, was vice president in the first administration of President Grover Cleveland) was an Illinois legislator, state treasurer, U.S. senator and failed twice in runs for governor. His family’s ties to Illinois politics dates back to the time of Abraham Lincoln.
Adlai III’s gubernatorial run in 1982 against incumbent James Thompson was the closest in Illinois history, losing by 5,074 votes. The ticket included Lake Countian Grace Mary Stern of Highland Park, a former Lake County Board member, county clerk and legislator as his running mate for lieutenant governor.
Forest Preserves President Angelo Kyle of Waukegan approached the county’s six Democrat lawmakers in May seeking state funding. Unlike some of his fellow commissioners, including a few Democrats, Kyle saw the historic value of keeping the Stevenson home and its legacy alive.
County lawmakers, who urged the Democrat-controlled General Assembly in the spring legislative session to including budgeting $1.1 million for the required renovations, also saw the historical importance of keeping the Stevenson mansion viable. Demolishing the structure had been one of the options proposed by some members of the forest board.
State Rep. Joyce Mason, D-Gurnee, one of the lawmakers who shepherded the funding bill for the Stevenson estate, called the property, “a precious piece of U.S. history right here in Lake County.” She noted preserving the home for future generations would give them the opportunity, “to learn more about his life and legacy than they would from any book or commemorative plaque.”
In the past, when Republicans truly ruled Lake County’s roost, perhaps county officials ignored the Stevenson home because of his Democratic roots. There should be no excuse now that Democrats are in control to continue to honor the man’s and his family’s contributions to Illinois and the nation.
The county took possession of the 6,000-square-foot home and the 40 acres which drifts down to the Des Plaines River from St. Mary’s Road, after it was purchased in 1969 and then donated in 1974 by wealthy Lake Forester Edison Dick. Although a registered Republican, Dick, a scion of the A.B. Dick mimeograph family, and his wife, Jane, were longtime Stevenson supporters.
“The Farm” as it was known among Stevensonians, was Adlai II’s home for most of his life after growing up in Downstate Bloomington. He purchased the Vernon Township property in 1935.
It was at the estate where he wrote speeches, articles and books, met with world and national leaders. The estate was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2014. It also is an Illinois Historic Site.
Since 2008, the home has been leased by the nonprofit and nonpolitical Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy, and used as the site of political seminars and conferences on global affairs. The group was cofounded by Adlai III and others to continue the ideals of his father.
Not only is the Center on Democracy a fitting inheritance from one Stevenson to another, but the work by legislators to save the family’s estate is yet another investment in the history of Lake County and Illinois.
Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor.
Twitter: @sellenews
