Jerry: I just got back from Branson a couple of days ago and was inundated with phone calls and e-mails about the destruction of this historical old building. I can't believe it! The sneakiness and backhanded way in which this was done is low, even for politicians!! These short-sighted political hacks will be gone in a few years, but the destruction they leave is forever. It is particularly sad to me, as my 3rd gr-grandfather, Joseph W. HILTON, built the hotel in the 1840's. I have done much research and believe it was the first Hilton Hotel in the country. Since the majority of Waterloo's ancestry came to IL way after the Revolution and Indian wars were fought and won, many seem to have no respect for the Colonial Americans who made the land on which they settled safe for them and their families. If Monticello or Mt. Vernon were in Waterloo, I'm sure they would have been torn down long ago. More concrete on the land is so necessary! I personally, and as an officer of the Monroe County Historical Society, am disgusted with this brazen destruction of early county history, as are many members of the Society. St. Clair County residents suffered a like experience when their beautiful old Grecian-style courthouse was covertly razed and the ugly concrete bunker was erected. What a shame! Janet