ARLINGTON HEIGHTS -- In little more time than it would have taken Walter Payton, the NFL's all-time leading rusher, to run for a long gain, Arlington Heights Park District commissioners unanimously voted Tuesday night to approve plans to honor his memory.

"We wanted to wait, let the dust settle a bit, let the family mourn and think this thing through," Park Board President Tom Drake said of the district's plans to dedicate "Payton's Hill" at the Nickol Knoll Golf Club.

Payton, who died of liver cancer in November, trained privately on a 92-foot-high hill in a landfill north of Dundee Road and Kennicott Avenue.

His test of strength and endurance--and the hill--became the stuff of local legend in the 1970s and 1980s when Payton lived in Arlington Heights.

The entire site eventually was turned into the Nickol Knoll Golf Club, with tons of dirt excavated from Lake Arlington. The course opened in 1995.

While the actual hill Payton trained on no longer exists because the terrain was altered during the course's construction, Park District commissioners decided to post a bronze plaque at an overlook that is the general area where Payton ran.

They also voted to place another plaque near the clubhouse. Inside the clubhouse will be a photo exhibit and display of a Bears jersey signed by Payton.

First Northwest Bank, which Payton helped start, will pay for the plaques, Michael Silverman, chairman and chief executive officer of the bank, announced.

Silverman, a former photographer for the Chicago Bears, said he ran up the hill with Payton a couple of times and is certain the Hall of Famer would be delighted by the memorial.

"I talked to Connie Payton (his widow), and she's really happy about this," Silverman said. "I know for sure Walter would be proud. I know for sure he'd be appreciative, and I know for sure he'd say, `You didn't need to do it for me.' "

A variety of tributes emerged in discussions among Park District staff and board members, Drake said.

"We are trying to do something tasteful that people will be proud of," Drake said before the meeting.

The Park District's plans also include a charity golf tournament to raise money and collect toys for the Walter Payton Foundation, which the Bears great founded to help wards of the state.

Soon after Payton died, Bears fan Dave Tilley of Round Lake Beach raised the idea of naming the site in honor of Payton. But the idea was swiftly opposed by Cyril F. Nickol, a descendant of the German family for which the golf course is named.

Now, both Tilley and Nickol say they approve of the Park District's plans.

"I think the whole thing is just great," Tilley said, "and the Nickol family will be able to retain their heritage."

"The main thing I wanted to do," Nickol said, "was keep the name of the park the same. That was my goal, and I think I succeeded. I figured right along it would be resolved that way."

Chicago Bears
  1975-1987