14 COMMUNITIES RECEIVE MAIN
STREET AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE
Lieutenant Governor Bob Kustra recently presented 24 awards to 14 Illinois cities for work in the Main
Street program. The program, administered by the
Lieutenant Governor's Office, is designed to help improve downtown areas of Illinois communities.
Participating communities have begun to show
considerable economic gains, according to economic
development statistics collected for the period of
January 1, 1995, through March 31, 1996. The data
shows a total reinvestment of $5.8 million in their
downtown business districts resulting in:
* 83 net new downtown businesses;
* 122 full-time and 55 part-time jobs created;
* $650,000 of private funds invested in building
facade improvements;
* $2.8 million of private funds invested in other
downtown building improvements;
* over $600,000 spent on new downtown construction; and
* $1.7 million in public improvements downtown.
Main Street Awards for Excellence were presented
to the following communities or community organizations:
ORGANIZATION:
• Pontiac P.R.O.U.D., for an "Academy Awards" annual meeting;
• Golconda Main Street, for a commemorative brick
fundraising project and newsletter, "River Town
Crier";
• Main Street Flora, a "Year in Review" newspaper
supplement;
• Consolidated Communications, Midtown Mattoon
and the City of Mattoon, for their major corporate
commitment to downtown;
• Midtown Mattoon, for hosting the 1995 Illinois Main
Street fall conference; and
• Genoa Main Street, for organizational documentation as an introductory community.
DESIGN:
• Galesburg Downtown Council, for a property improvement grant program;
• Main Street Flora, for a facade renovation of a historic building;
• Main Street Rushville, for the restoration of the
Princess Theatre;
• Golconda Main Street, for construction of the new
First American Home Care Building;
• Stockton Main Street and owners Karen and Henry
Clay, for renovating the Hermann Clothing
Company, a 100-year-old landmark;
• Macomb Downtown Development Corporation and
the City of Macomb, for Courthouse Square-streetscape improvements; and
• Main Street Prophetstown, for a guided walking
tour of second-story developments.
PROMOTION:
• Main Street Salem, for "Days of our Lives" festival;
• Main Street Rushville, for "Rushville Goes
Chocolate";
• Galesburg Downtown Council, for a "Come Home
to Galesburg" ad campaign;
• Main Street Lincoln, for an image campaign highlighting downtown businesses in Lincoln; and
• Macomb Downtown Development Corporation, for
its Dickens Christmas activities.
ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING:
• Galesburg Downtown Council, for an expansion of
the city's enterprise zone;
• Main Street Lincoln, for Schick's Clothing, a small
business success;
• Savanna Main Street, for a business recruitment
brochure;
• PRIDE in Paxton and owner Royce Baier, for
restoration of Remembrance Hall; and
• Galesburg Downtown Council, for research study on
downtown Galesburg. •
June 1996 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 19
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