Public art display of horse statues to honor fallen officers

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A charity that provides financial support to injured Chicago police officers and the families of those killed in the line of duty will install as many as 100 life-size horse statues throughout downtown Chicago this fall, organizers said Sunday at an event honoring fallen officers.

The program is modeled after the Cows on Parade public art installation, which began in Chicago in 1999 and has since traveled the globe, raising more than $25 million for nonprofit organizations.

The horse sculptures, manufactured at a Logan Park statuary, are designed to resemble Chicago’s Mounted Patrol Unit horses. Each will be decorated by a local artist and named for a fallen officer, according to organizers. The sculptures will be placed at tourism destinations, corporate atriums, parks, plazas and private businesses from September through November.

Sculpture sponsorships will start at $2,500 and the statues will be auctioned off to the public after the display concludes, organizers said. Net proceeds from sponsorships and from the auction will go to the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation.

The first phase of installation will begin Sept. 11, and statues will arrive on the Magnificent Mile in October, according to organizers.

A white, undecorated horse statue was on display Sunday at the Police Memorial at Gold Star Park near Soldier Field as organizers touted the program to hundreds of motorcyclists who had taken part in a tribute procession that ended at the memorial site.

The art installation will build on the charity’s fundraising efforts, which includes the annual motorcycle ride that drew more than 1,000 motorcyclists this year and raised an estimated $200,000, organizers said.

The Chicago Police Memorial Foundation was established 10 years ago to provide support and assistance to the families of Chicago police officers who have been killed or catastrophically injured in the line of duty.

The organization raised more than $1.7 million in 2012, according to the nonprofit’s tax filings, and spent more than $550,000 providing assistance to officers and their families, plus more than $130,000 recognizing officers who were killed or injured and more than $128,000 in maintenance on the Gold Star Memorial Park.

The charity is run by former Chicago Police Department Superintendent Philip Cline, who drew a salary of $115,707 in 2012 for his role as executive director, according to the tax filings.

Bethany O’Reilly is among the many widows who count the charity as a crucial support system. Her husband, Chicago police Sgt. Philip O’Reilly, was killed in 2003 when a tow truck slammed into his squad car while he was on patrol.

The foundation has covered tuition costs for the couple’s two children to attend private grade school and high school and has helped with expenses for extracurricular activities, O’Reilly said at the motorcycle event.

“They’ve made it so much easier for me, as a widow, to see that there’s people that care,” O’Reilly said.