HOME TOWN AWARD WINNERS
The Village of Tamms was recently awarded the
Governor's Cup for the Home Town Awards project
most representative of the spirit of volunteerism in Illinois.
The traveling silver trophy was presented to Tamms
at the 14th annual Governor's Home Town Awards
ceremony in Springfield. Tamms' winning entry was
for its "Super-Max Prison Project."
Located in Alexander County, with an 18.7 percent
unemployment rate and a poverty level of 32.2 percent,
Tamms lost nearly 10 percent of its population during
the 1980s. In March 1993, Tamms joined the Southernmost Illinois Prison Committee to work toward attracting a new state Super-Max prison to the area. From
business leaders to students, Tamms residents spoke
out in favor of their community as the preferred site for
the prison. After Governor Jim Edgar's decision to locate the prison there, volunteers raised funds to help the
village purchase land, extend utilities and make the
road improvements necessary to ensure that the project
went forward. The prison is expected to create more
than 400 permanent jobs with an annual payroll in excess of $15 million.
The Governor's Home Town Awards competition is
administered by the Department of Commerce and
Community Affairs, in close cooperation with the Department of Aging and the Lieutenant Governor's Office of Volunteer Services.
More than 100 communities submitted applications
for this year's awards. A group of volunteer judges
received the applications, judging them on the basis of
local need and the participation, continuity of the project and results. The judges personally visited the communities they selected as finalists before making the
final ranking decisions.
Awards were awarded to 65 projects in eight categories based on community participation. Eligible projects involve economic development, community service, community facilities, human enrichment,
achievements for or by youths and achievements for or
by senior citizens.
First place winners of general awards, youth
awards, senior awards and economic development
awards received commemorative plaques and road
signs recognizing their achievements. Second, third and
fourth-place winners received plaques. Cities hosting
the Lincoln-Douglas debate reenactments received
special plaques and road signs noting the efforts of
volunteers to make the reenactments realistic and educational.
The following is a list of the 1995 winners:
CATEGORY I (population up to 1,699)
GENERAL AWARD
1st Place Keithsburg Volunteers contributed their
time and funds to build the new First Christian
Church.
2nd Place Witt Donating funds and labor, volunteers built a new fire station for the Witt Volunteer
Fire Dept.
3rd Place Germantown With help from an endowment, volunteers worked to make Germantown Public Library a reality.
4th Place Delavan Volunteers formed Delavan
Restoration Society, conducting a downtown
streetscape project.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
1st Place Tamms Volunteers worked together to
successfully attract the new Super-Max Prison to
Tamms.
YOUTH AWARD
1st Place Aroma Park Volunteers formed Adventure Club to provide positive activities for young
people.
CATEGORY II (population 1,700 to 5,999)
GENERAL AWARD
1st Place Peotone Commemorating 1994 as "Year
of the Mill," volunteers continued to restore the
Rathje Mill.
2nd Place Carthage Volunteers gave 18,000 hours
to build the new World of Wonders Park, a Robert
Leathers park.
3rd Place Petersburg Volunteers are leading the
efforts to plant trees to beautify this historic community.
July 1995 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 7
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
1st Place Tremont Volunteers are the mainstay of
the Turkey Festival, which raised $43,500 for
community needs.
2nd Place Carlyle Hosting the 1994 Olympic Festival sailing venue was made possible through volunteer efforts.
YOUTH AWARD
1st Place Rochester Operation Snowball is an
adult/youth partnership to promote drug-free life-styles.
2nd Place Mt. Carroll Sink or Swim II raised funds
toward a new pool vacuum and swimsuits for lifeguards.
SENIOR AWARD
1st Place Fairfield Volunteers staff The Clothes
Line Inc., providing assistance to 68 needy families
in 1994.
2nd Place Villa Grove Stev's Place has a new home
after volunteers renovated a building bought by the
VFW.
CATEGORY III (population 6,000 to 11,999)
GENERAL AWARD
1st Place Algonquin Volunteers built Angel
Towne playground and raised funds for downtown
street improvements.
2nd Place Benton Helping Hands for Habitation
will utilize volunteers to provide homes for working families.
3rd Place Salem A 50-year celebration of the birth
of the G.I. Bill of Rights was coordinated by volunteers.
4th Place Highland Volunteers contributed funds
and time to build Glik Park Recreation Complex.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
1st Place Pontiac PROUD helped turn the historic
Old City Hall into a successful retail business incubator.
YOUTH AWARD
1st Place Rochelle Community Action Network
brings everyone together to create a healthy family
environment.
2nd Place Lemont The Lemont Internship Program exposes youths to the world of municipal
government.
3rd Place Riverside Members of the Riverside
Law Enforcement Explorer Post cleaned up the
First Avenue viaduct.
CATEGORY IV (population 12,000 to 17,999)
GENERAL AWARD
1st Place McHenry More than 350 volunteers
helped build Fort McHenry, a fully-accessible
playground.
2nd Place West Chicago Volunteers worked with
the police to organize participation in National
Night Out.
3rd Place Centralia Centralia volunteers staff a
recycling center to promote recycling in the community.
4th Place Godfrey Great Rivers Land Preservation
Association seeks to ensure public overlooks along
the river.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
1st Place Union County Union County Economic
Page 8 / Illinois Municipal Review / July 1995
Development Corporation is promoting business
development and tourism.
YOUTH AWARD
1st Place Sterling Imagination Station is a new
playground in Kilgour Park built entirely by volunteers.
SENIOR AWARD
1st Place Palos Hills In 1994,125 volunteers gave
nearly 4,000 hours to help their fellow senior citizens.
2nd Place Chicago Ridge RidgeFest is a four-day
celebration that brings the entire community together.
3rd Place Rantoul Hope for the Children helps
children with special needs in an intergenerational
setting.
CATEGORY V (population 18,000 to 34,999)
GENERAL AWARD
1st Place Mundelein Project C.A.P.E. is a community approach to better the community for youths
and families.
2nd Place Mundelein The Task Force was organized to address problems with crime in the Whitehall area.
3rd Place Mattoon Community Food Center provides meals to the needy and people with special
needs.
4th Place Wilmette Volunteers raised funds to
renovate the Gross Point Village Hall into a historical museum.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
1st Place Alton Alton Marketplace is a volunteer
Main Street program to help revitalize the community.
YOUTH AWARD
1st Place Granite City Positive Learning with Us
(PLUS) is a dropout prevention program for at-risk
students.
2nd Place Darien Volunteers raised funds and
built Safety Village to promote safety education for
children.
3rd Place Alton High school students discourage
littering through annual clean-up days and scholarships.
SENIOR AWARD
1st Place Christian County Bridges links seniors
needing support services and those willing to give
help.
CATEGORY VI (population 35,000 to 79,000)
GENERAL AWARD
1st Place Arlington Heights Thanks to community
leaders and volunteers, Wright House today houses
11 families.
2nd Place Arlington Heights Frontier Days is a
volunteer-run Fourth of July festival that brings
people together.
3rd Place Mt. Prospect some 800 volunteers
planted 10,000 daffodil bulbs to beautify the village.
4th Place Park Ridge The Human Needs Task
Force supports efforts to help needy residents obtain assistance.
July 1995 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 9
YOUTH AWARD
1st Place Stephenson County Mother Hubbard's
Kiddie Cupboard encourages teen parents to show
up for appointments.
2nd Place Orland Township Orland Township
Youth Commission plans community events and
projects for youths.
3rd Place Tinley Park Counselors work with
young offenders to address problems and help
straighten them out.
4th Place Cicero Proud Parents exposes eighth
graders to the working world and involves businesses with schools.
SENIOR AWARD
1st Place Oak Park Township Oak Park Township
Senior Services allied with others to create a new
Senior Center.
CATEGORY VII (population 80,000 to 400,000)
GENERAL AWARD
1st Place Palatine Township More than 400 needy
families received holiday gifts thanks to Adopt-a-Family.
2nd Place McHenry County Home of the Sparrow
uses volunteers to help homeless families and individuals.
3rd Place McLean. County The Medical Society
and volunteers created the Community Health
Care Clinic.
4th Place Wheeling Township The Read to Learn
Literacy/Volunteer Program helps improve reading skills.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
1st Place Danville/Vermilion County Volunteers
run Balloon Classic, raising funds for area organizations.
YOUTH AWARD
1st Place Will County Secrets is a play that helps
raise AIDS prevention awareness among teens.
2nd Place Bloomington-Normal Volunteers organized First Night to provide positive New Year's
Eve activities.
3rd Place Maine Township The Youth Drop-In
Center offers youths a safe place to play games and
get tutoring.
4th Place Springfield Harriet Tubman-Susan B.
Anthony Women's Self-Help Center is addressing
community needs.
SENIOR AWARD
1st Place Kankakee County Christmas in April
uses volunteers and donated materials to rehabilitate homes.
CATEGORY VIII (population over 400,000)
GENERAL AWARD
1st PlaceChicago Night Ministry Health Outreach
Program brings health care to homeless youths and
adults.
YOUTH AWARD
1st Place Cook County Regional Action Planning
Project helps combat gangs through volunteer-operated programs.
2nd Place Chicago Midtown Educational Foundation helps low-income youths become better-prepared students.
SENIOR AWARD
1st Place Chicago Volunteers built a Flag Pavilion
and veterans monument to promote pride and patriotism.
2nd Place ChicagoProject M.O.V.E. helps ensure
that senior citizens with special needs have transportation.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARDS
Volunteers made it possible to successfully host the
1994 reenactments of the 1858 Senatorial debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. The
reenactments were televised on C-SPAN to a national
audience. Recognition plaques went to:
Community |
Organizations that spearheaded
volunteer efforts
|
Ottawa
|
Main Street, Heritage Corridor,
City of Ottawa
|
Freeport
|
The Lincoln-Douglas Society |
Jonesboro
|
City of Jonesboro
|
Charleston |
Mayor's Office and Tourism Office |
Galesburg
|
City of Galesburg
|
Quincy
|
Quincy Society of Fine Arts,
City of Quincy, Quincy Cablevision
|
Alton
|
Mayor's Office, Alton Marketplace
|
Page 10 / Illinois Municipal Review / July 1995
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