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The Illinois State Historical Society seeks a new editor for the 112-year-old Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, the leading academic publication for historical research about the state of Illinois.

The COVID-19 pandemic has delayed or forced the cancellation of many activities across the state and nation, including the election of ISHS directors and advisers, usually conducted at our annual meeting in April. Because we don't know how the pandemic will affect our ability to gather collectively in the coming months, the ISHS board has decided to conduct the election while we are social distancing.

A new online exhibit by the staff of the Madison County Historical Museum explores One Hundred Years of Cooking. Assistant curator, Mary Z. Rose, under the direction of curator Jennifer Van Bibber, has assembled another interesting and timely exhibit. With so many people at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a resurgence in the interests of cooking and baking. The new exhibit is one of a dozen topics that can be explored at https://madcohistory.org/online-exhibits/.

The Madison County Historical Society (MCHS) is pleased to announce the receipt of two grants that will assist with operations and programming.

Although we weren’t able to celebrate this year, we delight in honoring this year’s winners.

The postponement and eventual cancelation of the ISHS’s “Best of Illinois History Awards and Gala” was a disappointment for many of us, as it is the one time of year we get to celebrate the achievement of the people and organizations, publishers, writers, and exhibitors, who each year demonstrate the variety and depth of Prairie State history. We really enjoy meeting our friends and partners in history and thanking them for reawakening our passion for the past, but shutting the celebration down to keep us all safe from the pandemic seemed a wise choice.

It’s hard to believe we are already six months into the year and time to start thinking about the 2021 awards. Before we do that, let’s toast the winners and salute those who sent in the nominations that made this year’s awards possible.

Click the "Read More" button for the list of this year's Best of Illinois History Award winners.