ROCKFORD (WIFR) -- He has been through rain, sleet, snow, and yellow paint, but that's not stopping him from showing his face in Rockford.

The newly cleaned Joe Marino statue was returned to downtown Rockford today. It was removed about a month ago to be restored by the original bronze caster.

If you remember it was because someone threw yellow car paint on it back in July. The job cost about three-thousand dollars, but was covered by insurance.

From the Park District: The Rockford Park District welcomed back a special statue to honor Joe Marino.

The Joe Marino statue was re-installed today at 102 N. Water Street, Rockford.

You might remember that the statue, which celebrates Joe Marino’s 50 years of community service, was vandalized on July 22, with yellow automobile paint.

Rockford Park District staff removed the Joe Marino statue and it was taken to In Bronze, located in Mt. Morris, IL.

The Park District contacted the original sculptor, David Seagraves, who recommended the statue be cleaned and restored by the original bronze caster.

The total cost to restore the statue back to its original state and improve the finish is $3,000, which was covered by the Rockford Park District’s insurance.

Immediately after the vandalism, the Park District received many calls from concerned citizens and businesses throughout the Stateline area wanting to help either financially or provide ideas about paint removal.

“I would like to thank the community for the concern expressed to the Rockford Park District in regard to this act of vandalism. We received many suggestions about how to remove the paint, and I’d like to thank those of you that gave monetary donations to the Rockford Park District Foundation to go to an established statue fund. We really took all the necessary steps to make sure the statue restoration was done the right way,” Deputy Director of Operations Ron Butler said.

This photo shows the statue when it was damaged last month.