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.
Preservation News Roundup: June 2021
Landmarks Illinois welcomes members, supporters & friends at 2021 Annual Meeting
Landmarks Illinois held its 2021 Annual Meeting June 23, 2021, welcoming nearly 200 of our members, supporters and friends from around the state to share stories of the past year. The virtual presentation, led by Landmarks Illinois Board Chair Sandra Rand, included new board appointments, highlights of our preservation successes and events and the announcement of our new Guiding Principles.
Additional presenters included outgoing Vice Chair Gary Anderson, 50th Anniversary Task Force Chair Will Tippens and Landmarks Illinois President & CEO Bonnie McDonald.
Miss the event? Watch the full Annual Meeting at our YouTube Channel
2021 ANNUAL MEETING
Landmarks Illinois 2021 Annual Report
Check out our latest Annual Report, detailing our accomplishments from our 2020-2021 Fiscal Year.
OUR IMPACT IN THE LAST YEAR:
152 communities served
85 culturally, historically & architecturally significant places we helped save
14 places we advocated for that became local and/or national landmarks or are now part of historic districts
$44,500 grant funds awarded to people saving historic places
The full report is available to download at our website. Or click below
2021 ANNUAL REPORT
New grant recipients announced!
In June, Landmarks Illinois announced it had awarded $22,000 in grant funding to preservation projects in Illinois through its three grant programs: The Preservation Heritage Grant Fund, the Barbara C. and Thomas E. Donnelley II Preservation Fund for Illinois and the Timuel D. Black, Jr. Grant Fund for Chicago’s South Side.
PRESERVATION HERITAGE FUND GRANT RECIPIENTS
Blackwell-Israel Samuel A.M.E. Zion Church, Chicago
Morgan County Historical Society, Jacksonville
City of Lockport, Lockport
Wood Dale Historical Society, Wood Dale
Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley, St. Charles
BARBARA C. AND THOMAS E. DONNELLEY II PRESERVATION FUND FOR ILLINOIS GRANT RECIPIENT
New Philadelphia Association, Pike County
TIMUEL D. BLACK, JR. GRANT FUND FOR CHICAGO’S SOUTH SIDE
LYTE Collective, Greater Grand Crossing
Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corp., Auburn Gresham
Read more in the news:
Illinois historic preservation group awards $17K in grants
Associated Press, June 14
Landmarks Illinois grants support preservation projects in six Illinois communities
Chicago Construction News, June 14
Morgan, Pike preservation projects awarded
My Journal Courier, June 10
UPCOMING GRANT APPLICATION DEADLINE
Grant applications for two Landmarks Illinois grant programs are due July 15!
Visit our website to see if your historic preservation project qualifies for funding and learn how to submit a grant application!
PRESERVATION HERITAGE GRANT FUND
Landmarks Illinois’ Preservation Heritage Fund grants are intended to provide monetary assistance to significant structures or sites in Illinois that are under threat of demolition, in imminent deterioration, in need of stabilization, in need of structural or re-use evaluation, or need to be evaluated for landmark eligibility. The Preservation Heritage Fund was established in 2004. Learn more.
TIMUEL D. BLACK, JR., GRANT FUND FOR CHICAGO’S SOUTH SIDE
Our newest grant fund launched in May 2020 in honor of acclaimed historian and civil rights activist, Timuel D. Black, Jr. The fund recognizes the deep and sustained influence Chicago’s South Side has had on Mr. Black’s life, as well as the lives of countless others historically and today. Learn more.
APPLY FOR GRANT FUNDING
STATE BOARD RECCOMENDS LISTING THOMPSON CENTER ON NATIONAL REGISTER
On June 25, the Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Council, the official state-appointed body to recommend places in Illinois for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, voted in favor of the nomination of the James R. Thompson Center for National Register designation.
Landmarks Illinois was happy with the outcome of the vote, and thanks IHSAC members for recognizing the significance of the iconic, Helmut Jahn-designed Postmodern building in the heart of Chicago’s Loop. Landmarks Illinois commissioned this nomination, prepared by Preservation Futures, with support from a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
We are eager for the next step in the designation process, which includes the state forwarding the nomination on to the National Park Service. However, we are aware of the state’s opposition to the nomination and stand ready with our preservation partners to evaluate a possible appeals process if the state does not take this action.
Additionally, the Chicago Architectural Club and the Chicago Architecture Center are calling for new, creative visions for the Thompson Center for the 2021 Chicago Prize competition. The groups are looking for ideas to reuse the building and celebrate its architecture. Landmarks Illinois President & CEO Bonnie McDonald is serving as a judge for the competition.
Read our letter sent to IHSAC members in preparation of its meeting:
READ OUR LETTERRead more in the news:
Advisory council backs Thompson Center nomination to National Register of Historic Places, despite opposition from two state agencies
Chicago Tribune, June 25
Historic sites group breaks ranks with state officials over Thompson Center
Crain’s Chicago Business, June 25
Reprieve from wrecking ball? State panel backs historic listing for Thompson Center, adding incentives to preserve it
Chicago Sun-Times, June 25
A ‘significant place of public engagement’: Preservationists protest state’s efforts to sell and potentially demolish Thompson Center
Chicago Tribune, June 24
State agencies expected to oppose adding Helmut Jahn’s Thompson Center to National Register of Historic Places
Chicago Tribune, June 22
Op-ed: The Thompson Center: a retrospective from the future
Chicago Tribune, June 4
Three Chicago Architects Reflect on The Thompson Center
Chicago Architecture, June 2
Deconstructionist Thompson Center A Step Closer to Being Deconstructed
Chicago Architecture, June 1
LANDMARKS ILLINOIS GUIDING PRINCIPLES
As announced at our Annual Meeting earlier this month, Landmarks Illinois released its Guiding Principles, which will act as Landmarks Illinois’ code of conduct in implementing its values and defining its vision for the future of preservation.
The Guiding Principles were created by the Landmarks Illinois 50th Anniversary Task Force — a diverse group of 34 people who met monthly since 2019 to discuss preservation practices and how to create a preservation organization that is equitable, inclusive, diverse and accessible.
Landmarks Illinois will host a Preservation Snapshots Lecture this fall to discuss the Guiding Principles and address questions from our members and supporters. In the mean time, reach out to Landmarks Illinois President & CEO Bonnie McDonald with questions.
READ THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Landmarks Illinois welcomes Frank Butterfield as new COO
Landmarks Illinois is proud to announce that Frank Butterfield has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer (COO). Butterfield began working at Landmarks Illinois in 2013, in the then new role of Springfield Office Director. Over the past eight years, Butterfield has radically advanced the organization’s field work and made it possible for Landmarks Illinois to help more people save places in downstate Illinois.
LEARN MORE
WANT TO JOIN THE LI TEAM?
Landmarks Illinois is hiring a Regional Advocacy Manager!
We seek a creative, organized and driven individual to work with local advocates to save and reuse our state’s rich architectural and cultural heritage, forge and strengthen strategic partnerships and to be Landmarks Illinois’ primary representative and spokesperson in downstate communities.
Interested in joining our team? Learn more about the position and how to apply below.
APPLY
Preservation Snapshots Lecture next week
INVESTING IN OUR HISTORIC PLACES
Our next Preservation Snapshots Lecture will share stories from four of our 2020 Covid-19 Organization Relief grant recipients on how they managed during this challenging year.
WHEN
Wednesday, July 7, 2021
12:00 p.m. – 12:45 p.m.
ADMISSION
Reservation required. $5 Members/$7 Public
SPEAKERS
Naomi Sheridan of The Firehouse Community Arts Center, Chicago
Martin Sorge of Uptown United, Chicago
Kurt Begalka of the McHenry County Historical Society, Union
Betty Richards of the Lorraine Foundation, Hoopeston
REGISTER
NEW ON THE LI PRESERVATION NEWS BLOG
REMEMBERING RICHARD H. DRIEHAUS
In this new article, we talk with Anne Lazar, Executive Director of The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, about Mr. Driehaus’ involvement with historic preservation and his relationship with Landmarks Illinois.
Richard Driehaus was a phenomenal philanthropist and preservationist. Landmarks Illinois was saddened to hear of his passing earlier this year, and we will miss him dearly.
Read the article — an extended version of a piece originally published in our May 2021 edition of The Arch Newsletter — to learn about Mr. Driehaus’ longtime love for architecture, his incredible generosity and how his foundation will continue to carry out his legacy.
READ THE ARTICLEAdditional Landmarks Illinois news
- Registration is now open for Landmarks Illinois’ Real Estate and Building Industries Council (RBIC) Summer Education Series presented by Chase. The series includes two virtual lunchtime educational seminars on July 15 and July 21 at noon and an in-person tour of the Old Post Office on August 10 at 4:00 p.m. Topics are Integrating Sustainability into Historic Commercial Buildings and Window Replacement in Historic Commercial Buildings. Click here to register for the series. A separate invitation will launch July 1 with complete details. The Old Post Office tour is very limited and will sell out fast. You must purchase the complete series of education seminars to attend the tour.
- The Illinois General Assembly passed legislation extending the River Edge Redevelopment Zone Historic Tax Credit program for an additional five years. This vital historic preservation incentive available in Aurora, East St. Louis, Elgin, Peoria and Rockford was set to expire at the end of 2021. This extension, however, means projects like the one planned at the former Broadview Hotel, named as one of our 2021 Most Endangered sites, are more likely to succeed and bring much-needed investment and revitalization to East St. Louis. Learn more.
- For the first round of this year’s Illinois Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program, three projects received a total of $7.7 million in historic tax credit allocations: Charles Warrington Earle School, 6121 N. Hermitage Ave., Chicago; ICA GreenRise Learning Laboratory, 4750 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago; and Baptist Retirement Home, 316 Randolph St., Maywood.
- The Commission on Chicago Landmarks (CCL) voted unanimously June 3 to approve preliminary landmark designation for the former Muddy Waters House in North Kenwood. Landmarks Illinois grant recipient, the Muddy Waters Original Jam Out (MOJO) Museum, is working to transform the Blues music legend’s house into a museum and cultural center. The Chicago Department of Planning and Development is scheduled to issue a report in support of individual landmarking of the Muddy Waters House at the CCL meeting Thursday, July 1. Learn how to watch the meeting online here.
- On Monday, July 12, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks will hold a virtual public hearing on the proposed landmark designation for the Halsted & Willow Gateway in Lincoln Park (called the Halsted & Willow Group by the city), which Landmarks Illinois included on its 2014 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois. Landmarks Illinois encourages residents to make public or written statements in support of the Chicago Landmark designation. Learn more.
- Local advocates are rallying to save the David C. Cook Building in Elgin — a property Landmarks Illinois included on its 2008/09 Chicagoland Watchlist. Earlier this year, the Elgin City Council nominated the 1901 building for potential landmark status, but did not proceed with designation due to lack of owner consent. Now, advocates are asking supporters to urge city officials to purchase the building using city TIF funds. Learn how you can help.
- Czech and Slovak community leaders have formed a nonprofit organization, the Klas Museum, for the purpose of fundraising to purchase, rehabilitate and operate Klas Restaurant in Cicero, included on Landmarks Illinois’ 2021 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois. Learn more in the organization’s press release, which included information about a new GoFundMe account where you can donate to the preservation of this important community landmark.
- On June 14, Landmarks Illinois’ Frank Butterfield proudly stood with People for Community Recovery and preservation partners at a press conference at Altgeld Gardens on the South Side of Chicago to call attention to 2021 Most Endangered site, School Building C, which Chicago Public Schools now wants to demolish. Learn more.
- We also held a Preservation Snapshots Lecture June 10 on the history and current status of Altgeld Gardens. Guest speakers Cheryl Johnson of People for Community Recovery & John Cramer of MacRostie Historic Advisors led the virtual presentation. Watch it on our YouTube Channel.
- Earlier this month, Illinois legislators allocated more than $1 million in funding in the state’s budget for repairs to the Adlai E. Stevenson home in Mettawa, a National Historic Landmark owned and operated by the Lake County Forest Preserve District. The forest preserve district board had previously been considering demolishing the former governor’s home due to costly repairs — a move we would have vehemently opposed.
- Our May 2021 edition of The Arch, our quarterly print newsletter, is now available to read in full at our website! Download the edition and learn about our latest advocacy efforts, grant recipients and more!
Download the full June 2021 edition of our Preservation News Roundup below
june 2021 preservation news roundupSupport our advocacy
Be a voice for the future of our communities by supporting Landmarks Illinois. Our work enhances communities, empowers citizens, promotes local economic development and offers environmentally sound solutions.