The monthly Landmarks Illinois News Roundup keeps you in the loop on the latest preservation news stories from the month as well as Landmarks Illinois’ main advocacy efforts, projects and announcements. You can also receive these monthly news roundups directly in your inbox by signing up for our newsletters at the bottom of the page.
May 2026 Preservation News Roundup
Landmarks Illinois’ Bonnie McDonald receives prestigious Loeb Fellowship from Harvard, will step down as President & CEO
Landmarks Illinois is announcing that President & CEO Bonnie McDonald has been selected for a 2027 Loeb Fellowship by the Harvard Graduate School of Design and will step down from her post leading the organization on July 24. Chief Operating Officer Frank Butterfield will serve as interim President & CEO until a permanent replacement has been selected.
“Bonnie has positioned Landmarks Illinois as a national leader in preservation, and the Loeb Fellowship is a prestigious recognition of her thought leadership and her capacity to make a greater social impact through preservation,” said Landmarks Illinois Board Chair Ron Clewer. “On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to express my deep appreciation for Bonnie’s bold and innovative leadership. We have complete confidence in the Landmarks Illinois staff to ensure the continuity of our organization’s exceptional work.”
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Landmarks Illinois joins partner organizations at Chicago Preservation Expo
Advocacy Manager Kendra Parzen and COO Frank Butterfield represented Landmarks Illinois at the Chicago 2026 Preservation Expo on May 18 at the Chicago Cultural Center. For the third year in a row, the Chicago Department of Planning and Development (DPD) hosted the free event in celebration of National Historic Preservation Month. Attendees had the opportunity to connect with City of Chicago staff and representatives from community and nonprofit organizations, professional service providers and trades experts at the forefront of historic preservation in Chicago.
The expo also included a ceremony for DPD’s Preservation Excellence Awards. Ten awards were presented to people and projects “that showcase the best preservation work to advance through the Landmarks Commission’s Permit Review Committee in the last year.” Among the projects honored was the Muddy Waters House, which Landmarks Illinois proudly supported through our Timuel D. Black, Jr. Grant Fund for Chicago’s South Side in 2020. The project, led by Muddy Waters’ great-granddaughter Chandra Cooper and Arda Design is transforming the late Blues legend’s former home into a museum and studio.
Award nominations due next week!
Landmarks Illinois is accepting nominations for our annual awards program, which recognizes exceptional efforts in preserving, restoring and revitalizing historic places in Illinois.
Nominations are due June 1, 2026, and can be submitted online.
Nominations submitted for a 2026 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award must be for projects or people located within Illinois. Projects must also have been completed within the last five years. Awards will be given in the following general categories: Advocacy, Leadership, Rehabilitation, Restoration, Stewardship and Environmental Sustainability.
Visit our website to learn more about eligibility and how to apply!
Submit a nomination!
Upcoming grant application deadline
GRANT APPLICATIONS DUE JULY 1!
The Landmarks Illinois Timuel D. Black, Jr. Grant Fund for Chicago’s South Side provides planning and capital matching grants to support organizations and people working to preserve the history, culture and architecture of Chicago’s South Side. Grants range from $500 – $10,000 each, depending on need. The grant program is open to both nonprofits and for-profit entities. Grants are awarded on a 3:1 matching basis. Applications for the next round of funding through the grant program are due July 1. Visit our website to learn more.
(PIctured: Blackwell-Israel Samuel A.M.E. Zion Church, recipient of a 2026 Landmarks Illinois Timuel D. Black, Jr. Grant Fund for Chicago’s South Side.)
apply for funding
Hearing on proposed Bryn Mawr Historic District set for June 15
The Commission on Chicago Landmarks will hold a hearing on June 15 for the proposed Bryn Mawr Avenue District. The proposed landmark historic district contains 15 contributing structures built between 1897 and 1929 along West Bryn Mawr Avenue in the city’s Edgewater neighborhood. The boundaries of the district would match those of the National Register-listed Bryn Mawr Historic District, designated in 1995.
“Constructed between 1897 and 1929, the proposed District’s 15 contributing buildings form a
distinctive and remarkably intact group designed in a range of architectural styles,” the commission reported. “From its earliest period of development, Bryn Mawr Avenue has served as a neighborhood commercial corridor, a street where residents of the surrounding community could access shopping and professional services in a walkable setting close to home.”
The June 15 hearing will be for the final recommendation for landmark status for the new district and for the proposed demolition of 1112-1114 Bryn Mawr. Please submit your comments in support of the new landmark historic district. Click below to check the city’s Commission on Chicago Landmarks’ Public Hearings webpage for more information.
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Former Roger Brown home & studio is designated a Chicago Landmark
The Chicago City Council approved landmark designation for the former Roger Brown Home & Studio in Lincoln Park this month. The property, located at 1926 N. Halsted St. and constructed in 1888, once belonged to artist Roger Brown, a leader in the Chicago Imagist movement and member of the LGBTQ+ community. Brown lived there from 1974 to 1995 and donated the property and its contents to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1996. In September 2025, SAIC put the property up for sale and marketed it as a potential teardown. That prompted Landmarks Illinois to encourage the Commission on Chicago Landmarks to consider designating the property as a Chicago Landmark, thereby preventing demolition. Thank you to everyone who joined us in supporting Chicago Landmark designation for this culturally significant place!
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Briggs Mansion in Rockford is demolished
On Tuesday morning, May 26, to the surprise of local advocates, a demolition crew arrived at the Briggs Mansion in Rockford and tore the building down. The Rockford Register Star called it a “sad day for Rockford.”
UW Health applied for a demolition permit, which the City of Rockford granted despite pushback from local residents. Landmarks Illinois had been working with preservation advocates in Rockford to prevent the demolition. This included Regional Advocacy Manager Quinn Adamowski, Board Chair Ron Clewer and Board Member Gary Anderson supporting an effort to landmark the property.
The Briggs Mansion, a Civil War-era house located at 1244 E. State St., was believed to have ties to the Underground Railroad. It was found to be structurally sound and was rehabilitated between 2005 and 2010. UW Health, which purchased the property to expand its campus, has not shared specific plans for the property. The hospital is also still waiting for the State of Illinois to issue permits for the project that spans multiple parcels of land.
(Photo credit: Ken DeCoster)
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Transformational Plan Spotlight: Inclusive Preservation
Landmarks Illinois staff tours Chicago History Museum exhibit
On May 26, Landmarks Illinois staff visited the Aquí en Chicago exhibit at the Chicago History Museum (CHM). Aquí en Chicago is a multifaceted project to recognize and share the history and culture of Chicago’s Latino/a/e community, which comprises one-third of the city’s population. Latino/a/e activists have led the project since calling for equitable representation at the CHM in 2019. Skyline Council of Landmarks Illinois member Rebekah Coffman, Curator of Religion and Community History, provided a guided exhibit tour and facilitated a dialogue toward a greater understanding of the places highlighted in the project. As Chicago prepares to welcome the Latinos in Heritage Conservation’s national Congreso from August 19-21, 2026, with Landmarks Illinois as its local host partner, deepening our connection with Chicago’s Lantino/a/e communities and cultural heritage aligns with our priority to foster inclusive preservation.
Aquí en Chicago is open through November 8, 2026. Want to learn more about the exhibit? Check out the Chicago History Museum’s podcast, “The Missing Exhibition: Building Aquí.” It was recently named a finalist for “Best Podcast” at the Chicago Headline Club’s Peter Lisagor Awards.
The Missing Exhibition: Building Aquí PodcastLI around the state...
See where else members of the Landmarks Illinois team were during May
New Paths to Preservation: The Late Modern Dilemma
MAY 14
At this event hosted by the Chicago Architecture Center, Landmarks Illinois Advocacy Manager Kendra Parzen was among a group of experts from Chicago, New York and L.A. who shared how existing tools and new approaches for renewing buildings can support housing needs and responsible growth.
Nuisance Properties: Examples of "Health & Safety" Receivership Across the U.S.
MAY 19
In partnership with University of Illinois Extension, Regional Advocacy Manager Quinn Adamowski moderated a webinar titled Strategies for Nuisance Properties: Examples of “Health & Safety” Receivership Across the U.S. Webinar presenters included Mark Adams, President of the California Receivership Group, Steve Barlow from The Works, a Memphis-based community development corporation, Mat Delort, a retired Illinois judge with extensive receivership experience, and Allen Guon, an attorney with Cozen O’Connor and a key architect of the new Illinois Receivership statute.
U of C Kreisman Initiative Housing Challenge
MAY 21
Landmarks Illinois President & CEO Bonnie McDonald gave closing keynote remarks at the University of Chicago’s Kreisman Initiative Housing Challenge, a challenge offered to University of Chicago graduate and undergraduate students to propose creative solutions to address the city’s critical housing shortages. This year’s theme, Preservation Without Displacement, focused on preservation and housing equity, asking students to design housing solutions for existing residential properties that avoided fueling gentrification or displacement. In her remarks, McDonald discussed Landmarks Illinois’ Transformational Plan priority to provide housing access through preservation, focusing on naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH). Of the nation’s 12M affordable housing units, 75% are NOAH and typically in older, vulnerable buildings. Read more about this in McDonald’s The Relevancy Guidebook.
Support Landmarks Illinois
Help us raise $25,000 by the end of June to support preservation of Route 66 in Illinois! The Mother Road is an important economic & cultural engine for Illinois communities. Your donation will support our work to ensure the legacy of Route 66 lives on!
Donate today!Upcoming Events
Preservation Through Photography: The Story and Legacy of Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church
JUNE 13
Join us at Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church, an architecturally and culturally significant church on Chicago’s West Side, for a special afternoon program celebrating the documentary arts and historic preservation.
Learn more & register
2026 Annual Meeting
JUNE 23
Join us for a free virtual gathering of members and preservationists from across Illinois.
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Pepper Family Wildlife Center: Presented by Landmarks Illinois’ Real Estate and Building Industries Council & Skyline Council
JUNE 23
Celebrate five years since the completion of the preservation award-winning wildlife center during a cocktail networking reception.
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Route 66 Centennial Event in Brooklyn, Illinois
June 26
The village of Brooklyn, Illinois, will dedicate and install Historic Route 66 signs to mark its reconnection with the “Mother Road” at a community event this summer. The installation of these signs will be a long-overdue acknowledgment of Brooklyn’s contribution to the rich and untold history of the highway.
Further details will be released in the months ahead. Interested in attending? RSVP to Leslie Hardin, the Community Engagement Coordinator for the Village of Brooklyn: lhardin@brooklynil.org.
2026 Congreso
AUGUST 19-22
Landmarks Illinois is proudly serving as the local partner for Latinos in Heritage Conservation’s upcoming summit in Chicago. Congreso Leadership Summit is a national gathering bringing Latinx leaders, preservation practitioners, artists, scholars and community organizers together. Congreso will take place at the historic Palmer House, centering conversations on heritage, place and leadership under the theme Estamos Aquí (We Are Here). The summit convenes national and Chicago-based voices to examine how Latinx communities shape, protect and sustain cultural landscapes across the United States.
Learn more & Register
Top social media posts of the month
News that the MOJO Museum received a preservation award from the City of Chicago garnered the most engagement on our Instagram and Facebook pages this month, while news of Bonnie McDonald’s Loeb Fellowship and forthcoming resignation took the top spot on LinkedIn. See the posts below.
View the full news roundup below
May 2026 Preservation News RoundupSupport our advocacy
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