Naperville To Erect Dick Tracy Statue

By Marcus Gilmer in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 7, 2010 4:00PM

Billy Williams and velociraptors aren't the only statues in the news. This weekend, Naperville will dedicate a nine-foot tall statue of cartoon crime fighter Dick Tracy, the newest addition to the town's riverwalk along the DuPage River. But why will a 2,000 pound bronze statue of Dick hover over the townspeople? Because a man who's been an integral part of the comic strip over the last 50 years lives in Naperville. According to the Tribune:

...Naperville is an ideal setting for the sculpture, because Dick Locher, who writes the comic strip's story line, has lived in the city since 1969. Locher assisted the strip's creator, Chester Gould, in drawing the strip from 1957 until 1961, then returned as the sole cartoonist in 1983 He retired from drawing the strip last year but continues to write its story line.

The statue was created by a sculptor from Wisconsin and cost $130,000, most of that paid by a grant from the city.