Great Places in Illinois as part of the state’s celebration. We can’t imagine how many Great Places we might have lost over the years if we didn’t have Landmarks Illinois working to preserve historic architecture,” she says. 

Landmarks Illinois is a membership-based nonprofit organization that inspires and empowers stakeholders to save Illinois places that matter to them. It was founded in 1971 by a handful of dedicated preservationists engaged in the struggle to save the Chicago Stock Exchange Building designed by Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler. 

Just like AIA Illinois, Landmarks Illinois works “on the front lines and behind the scenes to find solutions by leveraging relationships, resources and creativity.”

Staff from the two organizations, led by Bonnie MacDonald and Mike Waldinger, worked diligently over many years to gain a majority of support for a tax credit for the state’s historic buildings, which was signed into law by Governor Rauner last summer. 

One of Landmarks’ most well-known programs is the Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois, an annual list of threatened or endangered properties around the state nominated by citizens. The list also draws attention to important policy issues that affect these properties and historic properties throughout the state, on which both organizations will continue to work together to address in upcoming legislative sessions.

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See the list of all of our distinguished Honor Award recipients