Lifetime Achievement Award

The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to an individual for sustained and varied contributions through the collection, preservation, and/or interpretation of an aspect of Illinois history. The winner(s) will be announced at the ISHS Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet. Winners receive a handsome statuette of Abraham Lincoln.

Nominations for the Lifetime Achievement Award can be made by completing and submitting four (4) copies of the nomination form with four(4) copies of supporting materials to: ISHS Awards, Illinois State Historical Society, PO Box 1800, Springfield, IL, 62705-1800. Nominations must be postmarked by November 30 of every year.

For more information, please call 217-525-2781 or email OfficeManager@HistoryIllinois.org.

2023 Lifetime Achievement Award Winners

• Glennette Tilley Turner of Wheaton, is a teacher, author, lecturer, consultant, and community activist who has researched the Underground Railroad for most of her life, and is, as one judge said, “Exactly the kind of person who deserves such an award.”
• Greg Koos of Bloomington, past director of the McLean County Museum of History is an outstanding leader in the Midwest for museum advocacy, growth, outreach, and enrichment. Though now retired, he is still writing and promoting the history of his community to new generations.

Past Lifetime Achievement Award Winners

• 2022: Mary Barringer, Springfield
• 2022: Larry McClellan, Crete
• 2022: Dr. Mark Wyman, Bloomington-Normal
• 2021: Charlotte E. Johnson, Alton
• 2020: Ann Darrow, Waukegan
• 2020: Janice Petterchak, Rochester
• 2020: Roland Harris, Edwardsville
• 2020: Marcie D. Young, Bloomington
• 2019: Charlotte K. Renehan, Grayslake
• 2019: Russell Lewis, Chicago
• 2018: John E. Hallwas, Macomb
• 2018: William Iseminger, Collinsville
• 2018: David W. Scott, Springfield
• 2017: Elaine E. Egdorf, Homewood
• 2016: Suzanne Dietrich, Edwardsville
• 2016: Leah Axelrod, Highland Park
• 2016: Michael Batinski, Carbondale
• 2016: Rand Burnette, Jacksonville
• 2016: Patricia Burnette, Jacksonville
• 2016: Stuart Fliege, Springfield
• 2015: R. Eden Martin, Willmette
• 2015: Kathryn Harris, Springfield
• 2015: William Daniel Wilson, Albers
• 2015: Mark Sorensen, Decatur
• 2015: Gillum Ferguson, Springfield
• 2014: Richard E. Hart, Springfield
• 2014: David A Dickman, Wilmette
• 2014: Rodney O. Davis, Galesburg
• 2014: Douglas L. Wilson, Galesburg
• 2014: David Spadafora, Chicago
• 2013: Linda Hileman, Jonesboro
• 2013: Richard Hileman, Jonesboro
• 2013: John Weck, Springfield
• 2013: Redd Griffin, Oak Park
• 2012: Dr. Wayne C. Temple, Springfield
• 2012: Dr. Joseph Weber, Edwardsville
• 2012: Franklin DeLaine Donaldson, Effingham
• 2012: Diana Dretske, Wauconda
• 2011: Alberta Adamson, Wheaton
• 2010: Jennie Battles, Petersburg
• 2010: Dr. Robert McColley, Urbana
• 2009: Preston Michael Jones, Murphysboro
• 2009: Wolf D. Fuhrig, Jacksonville
• 2008: Robert Swenson, Carbondale
• 2006: Patricia Miller, Champaign
• 2006: Captain James A. Lowell, Lake Forest
• 2005: Dr. Margaret Burroughs, Chicago
• 2004: John H. Johnson, Chicago