Landmarks Illinois saw our 50th anniversary as a mandate to move forward as much as we looked back. Evolution is necessary for any organization to remain relevant and resilient. Change can only come from facing our failures and understanding our challenges. Visionary and transformational change comes through setting a bold, aspirational agenda to overcome these obstacles and respond to the future long before it arrives. We are doing this with the help of courageous thinkers coming to the table with multiple perspectives on preservation.
(Pictured: Preservation advocates at the McGraw Hill protest on Michigan Avenue in Chicago in the 1990s)
CREATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY TASK FORCE
Comprised of 34 individuals, Landmarks Illinois; 50th Anniversary Task Force was charged with the following:
- Evaluate what was right and wrong with our current practices
- Reckon with where preservation has had negative effects or unintended consequences
- Identify an effective, equitable and reparative code of conduct for our future.
Task force members represented people from various professions in and outside the preservation field and those who see preservation as effective, well-intentioned and/or problematic. They engaged in challenging, monthly discussions between December 2019 and March 2021 on how to make Landmarks Illinois and preservation relevant in the near- and long-term. The outcome was a set of Guiding Principles, approved by the Board of Directors in April 2021, as a code of conduct to implement our organizational values and lay the foundation for our next strategic plan. (Read the Guiding Principles here)
(Pictured: Landmarks Illinois Director of Advocacy Lisa DiChiera, 50th Anniversary Task Force Member Bernard Llyod, an Landmarks Illinois President & CEO Bonnie McDonald in Springfield in 2019)
TASK FORCE MEMBERS
Landmarks Illinois wishes to recognize and thank the 50th Anniversary Task Force members for the contribution of their wisdom and time in helping to chart a relevant future for our organization and the preservation movement as a whole.
- Jennipher Adkins, Chief Operating Officer at Greater Englewood Community Development Corporation
- Michael Allen, Director and Architectural Historian at Preservation Research Office
- Catherine Baker, Principal at Landon Bone Baker Architects
- Alicia Berg, Assistant Vice President for Campus Planning and Sustainability at University of Chicago
- Ciere Boatright, Vice President, Real Estate and Inclusion at Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives
- Frank Butterfield, Director of Springfield Office at Landmarks Illinois
- Julie Carpenter, Office Manager at Landmarks Illinois
- Monica Chadra, Founder and Principal at Civic Projects
- Chandra Christmas–Rouse, Program Officer at Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.
- Matt Cole, Manager of Government Relations at The Resurrection Project
- Lisa DiChiera, Director of Advocacy at Landmarks Illinois
- Tracy Dillard, Real Estate Broker at @properties
- Gregory Dowell, Director of Building Enclosure Group at ZSLLC Architectural Engineering
- Bob Eschbach, Attorney at Law
- Rebeca Fernandez, Architectural Preservation Specialist at Rework Heritage, LLC
- Jean Follett, Editor and Historic Preservation Consultant
- Suzanne Germann, Director of Grants and Easements at Landmarks Illinois
- Jackie Taylor Holsten, Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Holsten Real Estate Development Corporation
- Mike Jackson, Preservation Architect
- Lisa Lee, Executive Director at National Public Housing Museum
- Peter Limberger, Co-Founder at CL Enterprises
- Bernard Loyd, Founder and President at Urban Juncture
- Kaitlyn McAvoy, Communications Manager at Landmarks Illinois
- Bonnie McDonald, President & CEO at Landmarks Illinois
- Emilio Padilla, Project Director at JGMA (Juan Gabriel Moreno Architects)
- Anne Puotinen, Director of Development and Engagement at Landmarks Illinois
- Sandra Rand, Board Chair at Landmarks Illinois
- Marija Rich, Membership Manager at Landmarks Illinois
- Erica Ruggiero, Owner and Principal at McGuire Igleski & Associates
- Jennifer Spence, Director of Marketing at Banterra Bank
- Will Tippens, Vice President at Related Midwest
- Steven Vance, Founder and CEO at Chicago Cityscape
- Kenneth Watkins, Founder and Managing Principal at Hàché Group, Inc.
- Brad White, Associate Director at Alphawood Foundation
- Tiffanie Williams, Events Manager at Landmarks Illinois