Pekin and Tazewell County were well represented at the 2024 Illinois State Historical Society “Best of Illinois” Awards Luncheon, held Saturday, 20 April 2024 at the Hoogland Center for the Arts in downtown Springfield, Illinois.
Following are the awards bestowed on Saturday that have a Pekin or Tazewell County connection, grouped by award category and including the ISHS judges’ comments. Photographs are courtesy the Illinois State Historical Society, the Peoria Freedom & Remembrance Memorial Team, and the Pekin Public Library.
Special Projects:
“Peoria Freedom and Remembrance Memorial.” Created by Robert Hoffer, David Pittman, Carl Adams, Joe Hutchinson, Jared Olar, and Bill Poorman. Superior Achievement. “This memorial park (featuring three new historical markers) was opened in June 2023 and is the culmination of many years work by a collaboration of private individuals, local government, private business, and state and local historical groups. Great work by a large number of people working together for a common goal. This is a rich project, extremely well planned, executed, and documented. Not only does it represent the best kind of research, it brought together several individuals and organizations. Perhaps most importantly the project can reach anyone anywhere through the superb website that includes all documentation. Every aspect is thorough and professional. This civic project is superior in every way. In fact, it is a model of how to organize and galvanize the efforts of a wide range of stakeholder and city players. What started from simple but profound questions has led to the heroic rediscovery, reclamation, and memorialization of an historic site of city, regional, and national importance. Every constituent in this effort deserves praise from the state of Illinois for their great gift, particularly Peoria historian Bob Hoffer. This work ensures that people passing by this space will notice something unique, and if they pause long enough, they will learn about a Black woman in a quasi-slave state who understood herself to be free even before Mr. Lincoln argued to make her freedom lawful.” Accepting the award were Robert Hoffer, Carl Adams, Jared Olar, and Bill Poorman. (The two other members of this project’s core team, David Pittman and Joseph Hutchinson, were unable to attend.)
“Freedom and Remembrance Memorial Project Promotional Video Team.“ Certificate of Excellence. “This video is excellent in its production, organization, and content delivery. It admirably givers the background history of the Moffatt Cemetery and justifies all the myriad efforts by a wide range of stakeholders and donors to reclaim, recognize, and dedicate it for the city of Peoria. The video is highly watchable and keeps viewers interested from start to finish. Its connection to early Peoria history, to Abraham Lincoln, and to the worthy and hallowed dead there — especially Nance Legins-Costley and her son, William — documents people and stories that absolutely cry out to be told.” Accepting the award were Robert Hoffer and Bill Poorman.
“Nance Legins-Costley and William Henry Costley Memorial.” — Legins-Costley Park. By Tazewell County Clerk John Ackerman, the City of Pekin, the Tazewell County Genealogical Society, the Pekin Chamber of Commerce, Pekin Main Street Organization, the YWCA Coalition for Equality, and Pekin historian Jared Olar. Superior Achievement. “A fantastic example of broad-based community collaboration centered on preserving and teaching local history. This memorial project shined light on an important but not widely known local story, a story with wider significance. Creating a public space centered on these memorials is long-term community engagement with local history at its best. Bravo! A sterling example of cooperation among many groups to commemorate important individuals and events in our state’s history.” Accepting the award were John Ackerman, Jared Olar, Susan Rynerson, and Maureen Naughtin.
“WWII Living Veterans Recognition Program.” Tazewell County Clerk and Tazewell County Veterans Assistance. Certificate of Excellence. “The Tazewell County Clerk and Tazewell County Veteran Assistance program launched an effort to identify and recognize living veterans who served in World War II. The organizers canvased senior living complexes, retirement homes, veterans’ organizations, funeral homes, and media outlets to discover Americans from the ‘Greatest Generation’ still living in Tazewell County. The effort produced a list of 19 individuals, with the youngest at 95 and the two oldest at 105 and 106. This is an admirable project to document surviving WWII veterans in Tazewell County. It honors the veterans today and insures that their stories are preserved for tomorrow and beyond.” Accepting the award was John Ackerman.
Best Website:
“What Nance Means to Us” website. Created by Colleen Kahn and Pekin High School Students. Superior Achievement. “Great effort on the part of the teacher and the students. Strong points include good color contrast and attractiveness of the top page; fine proportions in the layout design, and the storytelling in the video is fine. The website contains information on students’ reactions to Nance Legins-Costley, a woman who played a key role in reinforcing Illinois’ rejection of human bondage. An excellent format for students to react and interact with our state’s history. This effort represents community engagement at its finest.” Accepting the award on Colleen Kahn’s behalf was John Ackerman.
Ongoing Periodicals:
“The Monthly.” Tazewell County Genealogical and Historical Society Newsletter. Superior Achievement. “This entry has been published monthly for 45 years and is a real TREASURE. The information is so varied and would be of interest to people all over the state. There are photographs, including mystery photos seeking identification, old ads, newspaper articles, opinion pieces, announcements of organizational events, publications for sale, old cookbooks, warrants for arrest state political news, obituaries. So very interesting. ‘The Monthly’ is packed with helpful information on genealogy of area residents and local history.” Accepting the award was Susan Rynerson.
Collection Preservation:
“Complete Digitization of all Tazewell County Board Minutes from 1827 to Present.” Tazewell County Clerk’s Office and ArcaSearch. Award of Superior Achievement. “Reliable, searchable public records are key to understanding the past, even events going back to 1827. The County Clerk’s office is to be commended for becoming the first in the state to complete this important task. This project contributes mostly to the preservation of the history of one county but could be useful to researchers in other parts of the state and should serve as a model for other Illinois counties preserving and making governmental records accessible to professionals and the public alike.” Accepting the award was John Ackerman and Tazewell County Chief Deputy Clerk Dan Sullivan.
“Complete Digitization and New Public Website for Tazewell County Military Discharge Records.” Tazewell County Clerk’s Office of Vital Statistics. Accepting the award was John Ackerman.
From the History Room 