New Chairman Elected at Annual Meeting
Landmarks Illinois

Geoffrey A. Koss was elected the 21st chairman of Landmarks Illinois’ Board of Directors, in conjunction with the organization’s annual meeting on June 23rd at Chicago’s Lake Point Tower, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

More than 100 Landmarks Illinois members participated in the annual meeting, which included a presentation by architect Edward Windhorst on the construction of Lake Point Tower (1969; Shipporeit-Heinrich, Inc.). Windhorst also led tours of the building’s Skyline Park, an Alfred Caldwell-designed Prairie-style landscape that is also one of Chicago’s first “green roofs.” Paul LeRoux, president of LPT’s Condo Association, which graciously co-sponsored the event, gave tours of a model condo unit in the 70-story structure.

Koss replaces Rolf Achilles, a renowned art historian who has served as board chairman since 2007. Landmarks Illinois president Jim Peters praised Achilles for his leadership, particularly in statewide fundraising initiatives and in transition planning.

Koss, 38, is managing director and chief credit officer with The Private Bank in Chicago. He previously worked at Wrightwood Capital Management and at LaSalle Bank/ABN AMRO in its commercial real estate department. For the past two years, he has been Vice Chair of Landmarks Illinois and also served as Chair of its Finance and Audit Committee.

He has a business degree from Indiana University and a master’s degree in finance from Northwestern University. Geoff’s parents are preservationists and he attributes his strong interest in the subject to their renovation—while he was growing up—of an 1840 Federal-style house in Noblesville, Ind. The project is featured in “99 Historic Homes of Indiana” (Indiana University Press, 2002).

The newly elected members of Landmarks Illinois’ Board of Directors are: Susan Baldwin Burian, Gavin E. Campbell, Paul Coffey, Edward Gerns, Brenda Grusecki, Martin Harper, David Moes, Paul B. O’Kelly, Charles T. Rivkin, Anne-Marie St. Germaine, and Jack Tribbia.

Outgoing board members also were praised for their service to the organization. They include: Robert P.B. Angevin, John Blacketor, Shelley Gorson, Bruce Grieve, Marilyn Johnson, Yvette LeGrand, Judith McBrien, Vincent Michael, William Tippens, and David Woodhouse.
 

Threatened Dawes Housie in Good Hands

Evanston

Northwestern University and the Evanston History Center have reached an agreement for the University to transfer the Dawes House, listed on Landmarks Illinois’ 2008-09 Chicagoland Watch List, and more than half of an existing Dawes endowment fund, to the Evanston History Center. Charles Gates Dawes, a former vice president of the United States and a World War I general, donated the house, its contents and the papers to Northwestern in 1942.

The agreement calls for Northwestern to retain the papers and books of Charles Gates Dawes in the University Library, where they are now kept, while the house and all its furnishings would be given to the Evanston History Center for use as a historical center. Northwestern would retain a portion of the Dawes endowment fund to maintain the library collection.

Northwestern and the Evanston History Center received approval for the property transfer from the Illinois Attorney General and the Circuit Court. Illinois law requires approval of the court when property that was given to one charitable organization is later given to another or used for a different purpose.

The University along with the Evanston History Center – headquartered in the Dawes House – maintained it as a historical center since 1957. Northwestern closed the house to the public in April 2008 because of the need to make life/safety repairs identified by the city. At that time, Northwestern was noncommittal about the future of the house and in keeping its tenant the Evanston History Center. Because the university would not state its intentions for the house, and out of particular concern that a new use could compromise its intact historic interior which is unprotected by its local landmark status, Landmarks Illinois placed the Dawes House on its annual Chicagoland Watch List. It has since reopened.

“We’re very pleased that we were able to reach an agreement with Northwestern so the History Center will have a permanent home and the Dawes House will be maintained as a historical center,” said Marge Wold, president of the Evanston History Center.

“This agreement will allow the University to continue to carry out its duty to preserve General Dawes’ papers and other materials while giving the Evanston History Center control of the Dawes House and property,” Eugene S. Sunshine, Northwestern’s senior vice president for business and finance, said. “The agreement will benefit both the University and the History Center and preserve the legacy of General Dawes in Evanston.”

To see the Dawes House listing on the 2008-09 Chicagoland Watch List, click here.

For more information, go to: www.evanstonhistorycenter.org.

Bill Could Cancel IHPA – DNR Merger

Illinois

On May 31, the Illinois General Assembly approved House Bill 88 which nullifies a proposed merger between the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA) and the Department of Natural Resources—a reversal of a March 18 budget proposal by Gov. Pat Quinn. The Governor has 60 days to review the bill once he receives it.

IHPA has served as a stand-alone department for over 24 years. Its duties include operation of over 60 historic sites and memorials and administration of federal historic preservation programs at the state level, such as the National Register for Historic Places, tax credit projects, and regulatory review of federal projects that impact historic properties.

“IHPA is a critical agency for the state of Illinois,” said Jim Peters, president and executive director of Landmarks Illinois. “We are hopeful it will maintain its identity through the budget-review process.”

This decision comes a month after Gov. Quinn reopened the 12 Illinois historic sites that had closed due to $2.4 million in budget cuts made by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich in November 2008. Topping the list was Frank Lloyd Wright's Dana-Thomas House in Springfield, one of the acclaimed architect's best-known residential designs.

State Supreme Court Rejects
Chicago’s Landmarks Plea

On May 28, 2009, the Illinois Supreme Court rejected the City of Chicago’s petition asking the court to review a January 30th ruling by the Illinois Appellate Court that puts the Chicago Landmarks Ordinance at risk. Landmarks Illinois, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Illinois Attorney General, and a score of cities and organizations had joined the City to request review of the case by the Illinois Supreme Court.

This decision means the case now will be sent back to Cook County trial court Judge Sophia Hall, who will have to hold a hearing and render a judgment that is consistent with the Appellate Court’s opinion, which had said that criteria in the Chicago Landmarks Ordinance were “unconstitutionally vague.” (The original case was filed in 2006 by two Chicago property owners who were displeased with the City’s designation of their neighborhoods as local landmark districts.)

It is expected that, when the case is concluded later this summer, Judge Hall will enter a final order that finds language in the Chicago Landmarks Ordinance to be “vague.” The City of Chicago may then formally appeal that decision. However, until the trial court makes such a ruling, the local landmarks ordinance will remain in effect.

In the meantime, Landmarks Illinois has received countless phone calls and e-mails from municipalities concerned about the potential impact of this court case on their local landmark ordinances. Chicago’s Landmarks Ordinance is similar to many other landmark laws across Illinois and the United States. Since its passage in 1968, the Chicago ordinance has resulted in the protection of 276 individual landmarks and 51 landmark districts, encompassing nearly 10,000 properties.

The following signed onto the March 11th motion in support of the City of Chicago:

Illinois Municipalities

City of Aurora
(City of Blue Island – not included due to timing of submission)
City of Highland Park
City of Lake Forest
Village of Oak Park
City of Rock Island
City of Urbana
(Village of Wilmette – not included due to timing of submission)

Illinois Associations and Organizations

AIA Chicago
Illinois Association of Preservation Commissions
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
Illinois Municipal League
Landmarks Illinois
Preservation Chicago
Scenic Illinois

National Associations and Organizations

National Association of Preservation Commissions
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Preservation Action

Other American City Preservation Organizations

Cleveland Restoration Society
New York Landmarks Conservancy
Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation

Download the March 11th motion in support of the City of Chicago:

Download the PDF of the appellate court ruling:
(issued Jan. 30, 2009; revised Mar. 6, 2009):

Download Landmarks Illinois’ Preservation Brief No. 111 to answer common questions on the appellate court decision:

Click the links below to read full articles about the appellate court ruling:

Chicago Tribune Stories

Preservation Magazine
 

•	Illinois Court Calls Chicago Landmarks Law "Vague" (Feb. 3, 2009)

Crain’s Chicago Business

 

•	Court Strikes Down City's Landmarks Law (Jan. 30, 2009)

Chicago Architect Magazine

 

•	Sitting in Limbo; City’s Landmark Ordinance challenged, waits its day in court (May/June 2009)

Court Rules to Protect Landmark
Peoria

On March 31, 2009, the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois rejected a church's challenge to the City of Peoria's decision to landmark a historic apartment building it owned, as well as the city's subsequent refusal to allow the church to demolish the building. The church based its suit on the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act +(RLUIPA), a 2000 federal law that protects houses of worship from local land use decisions that impinge excessive burden on a congregation’s ability to exercise its faith.

 

U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division: A Guide To Federal Religious Land Use Protections

As reported in Landmarks Illinois’ January 2007 newsletter, the historic Prairie-style Roanoke Apartments building, owned by Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, was declared a city landmark in 2000. It is adjacent to the locally designated Randolph Roanoke Historic District. In 2006, the church sought to demolish the building and argued that it needed the additional land to expand its ministries by building a community center. The Peoria Historic Preservation Commission twice denied a certificate of appropriateness, prompting church officials to ask City Council to supersede the commission's ruling by repealing the building’s landmark designation. Both Landmarks Illinois and the Central Illinois Landmarks Foundation objected to the repeal request. Landmarks Illinois emphasized in a November 2006 letter to the Peoria City Council that RLUIPA “…does not provide religious institutions with immunity from land use regulation, nor does it relieve religious institutions from applying for variances, special permits or exceptions…” 146 Cong.Rec. S7774, S7776 (daily ed. July 27, 2000).

The Peoria City Council denied church officials’ request to repeal the landmark designation and the congregation filed suit in February 2007 invoking RLUIPA's "substantial burden" provision. In his ruling, citing a past case – Vision Church v. Village of Long Grove – Judge McDade held that the limitations on the church's ability to tear down the building did not constitute a "substantial burden." The court also found it significant that the city's decision affected only one building on the church campus and did not prevent the church from continuing its religious ministries. The court recognized that the inability to demolish the church did place a financial burden on the church, but found that this burden was not "substantial" within the meaning of RLUIPA.

The Trinity congregation has until April 30 to file an appeal. Based on that decision, city officials and advocates will determine how best to address the future of the building. The City maintains that the church has adequate land upon which to build new facilities. In the meantime, the Roanoke Apartments building remains empty, suffering from deferred maintenance. The church also has turned down a previous purchase offer.

For more information, please contact Josh Naven at (309) 494-8657 or jnaven@ci.peoria.il.us.
 

	Statement by Central Illinois Landmarks Foundation
	Peoria Response Brief

U of I’s Oldest Building Saved
Urbana-Champaign

On March 11, 2009, at the University of Illinois Board of Trustees meeting, Chancellor Richard Herman announced that the historic Mumford House will remain in its original site on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus and will not be moved as previously planned. Many trustees spoke in favor of keeping the house in its location and none opposed. Board of Trustees Chairman Niranjan S. Shah directed Chancellor Herman to prepare rehabilitation plans. He also said a resolution will be drafted to ensure this policy will be permanent.

This decision is a clear victory for Landmarks Illinois, the Preservation and Conservation Association of Champaign County (PACA), and U of I students, faculty, and alumni who fought hard to oppose moving the university’s oldest structure. Landmarks Illinois President and CEO, Jim Peters, was among the many who attended and spoke at the board of trustees meeting.

UIUC had proposed moving the 139-year-old Mumford House from its original site to a location two miles away, adjacent to a busy highway and redevelopment site. University officials had said the frame structure, which is located on a slight knoll and surrounded by mature trees, is in the way of a landscape plan for the newly-constructed McFarland bell tower.

The house, which was named for an early Dean of the College of Agriculture, was built by the college in 1870 as a “Model Farmhouse.” Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it dates to the U of I’s origins as the Illinois Industrial University. After being used for more than a century—first as the residence of agriculture deans, then as faculty offices—it was vacated in 1998. Although the university has provided only minimal maintenance since then, a recent inspection confirms that the building is structurally sound despite its peeling paint and decayed front steps. 

Richard H. Driehaus Commits $1 Million to Landmarks

Money Seeds Illinois County Courthouses Grant Initiative

Philanthropist Richard H. Driehaus has announced a four-year, $1 million commitment to Landmarks Illinois to establish a grant program that assists communities throughout Illinois in restoring their historic county courthouses. The surprise announcement came at Landmarks Illinois’ annual Legendary Landmarks Gala, in which Mr. Driehaus was among four individuals being honored by the organization for their contributions to the state’s cultural legacy.

“Richard Driehaus is a long-time leader in the local historic preservation movement,” said Jim Peters, President of Landmarks Illinois. “We are honored to accept his gift and partnership with Landmarks Illinois to help preserve many of our state’s greatest works of public architecture—the County Courthouse.”  To learn more…