GOVERNOR EDGAR PRESENTS
ILLINOIS MAIN STREET AWARDS
Governor Jim Edgar recently honored six Illinois
communities for their efforts to revitalize their downtown areas through the Illinois Main Street program.
"These communities have proven their dedication
to rejuvenating their downtown business districts,
bringing in new economic activity and creating new
jobs for their residents," the Governor said. "The Main
Street program has a positive impact on our economy
by helping communities reach their downtown development goals."
The following communities received the first annual Awards of Excellence in four separate areas:
• Organization: Prophetstown was honored for a
membership brochure describing the vision, mission and objectives of its program.
• Design: Lincoln was recognized for a project to
restore a piece of history and improve the downtown streetscape.
• Promotion: Macomb won for a collectible
limited-edition Christmas ornament. Paxton also
was honored for a community directory highlighting various aspects of the community.
• Economic Restructuring: Paxton won for a telephone survey and a downtown employee survey
that helped assess community perceptions and attitudes. Prophetstown was recognized for developing a color-coded map of downtown businesses.
Currently, 13 Illinois communities are participating
in the Illinois Main Street program which was initiated
in 1993. They include Flora, Danville, Golconda, Lincoln, Macomb, Mattoon, Mt. Carmel, Paxton, Prophetstown, Rushville, Salem, Savanna and Stockton.
Galesburg is one of the three original National Main
Street pilot communities. The community participated
in the program from 1978 to 1980. Seminary Street in
downtown Galesburg dates back to 1841 and is a success story for the program.
Illinois Main Street operates in conjunction with the
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and is based on
the nationally recognized Four-Point Approach developed by the National Main Street Center.
Page 20 / Illinois Municipal Review / May 1995
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