Freedom Run prepares for 19th trek from Morris to Marseilles

The Middle East Conflict Wall Memorial in Marseilles will be a destination Saturday, June 18, as Freedom Run returns for its 19th motorcycle ride after the Marseilles City Council approved its permits Wednesday night.

The annual motorcycle ride from the Grundy County Fairgrounds in Morris to the Middle East Conflicts Wall along the Illinois River in Marseilles provides funding for the memorial and Illinois Motorcycle Freedom Run Vice President Anna Russo said there are some exciting plans in the works for both this year’s run and for the future.

These plans include a new museum on-site made from blueprints from late Freedom Run-founder Tony Cutrano.

“The blueprints have already been printed off and we got the OK, so we’re going to go off of that and bring back his vision,” Russo said.

Russo said the plan is to eventually have all 8,000 names and their backstory featured in a documentary-style manner.

“It’ll be a huge undertaking and take a lot of time, but we plan on doing that,” Russo said. “You’re not going to hear how they died. You’re going to hear how they live. They liked to fish, they liked to bowl.”

The Marseilles City Council also approved the 50th annual Marseilles Fun Days starting July 5 and running through July 10.