HOFFMAN ESTATES TO RECEIVE 1993 URBAN ENRICHMENT AWARD FROM NLC AND CH2M HILL

HOFFMAN ESTATES TO RECEIVE 1993 URBAN ENRICHMENT AWARD FROM NLC AND CH2M HILL

Other Winners Are: San Diego, Greensboro, N.C., Macon, Ga., and Surfside Beach, S.C.
Honorable Mention Was Accorded New York City, Dayton, Ohio, And Hartford, Conn.

The Village of Hoffman Estates, Ill., has won a 1993 award for urban enrichment, sponsored by the National League of Cities and CH2M Hill Corp., for the community-based effort that enabled a center for sexually and physically abused children to relocate and expand its operations at a building that had once served as the village hall.

The award, which carries a cash prize of $1,250 to help support non-profit activities in the community, will be presented at NLC's annual meeting, the Congress of Cities, in Orlando on December 3. Awards also were won by San Diego, Greensboro, N.C., Macon, Ga., and Surfside Beach, S.C.

In Hoffman Estates, Mayor Michael J. O'Malley spearheaded the project, which involved an old farmhouse that had been used for various purposes since serving as the village hall.

The building was offered to the Children's Advocacy Center at a nominal rent of $1 per year when the group was looking for a way to expand from its cramped basement quarters in a nearby town. Local trade unions, businesses and individuals contributed more than $350,000 in materials and labor costs to renovate the old building into a modern, comfortable, child-friendly setting.

The center, which serves 22 communities in the northwestern part of Cook County, provided counseling and services for 365 children in 1992.

The James C. Howland Award for Urban Enrichment was established in 1989 to encourage and reward coordinated efforts and public-private partnerships that have helped to bring about higher quality and more sensitive development that enhances the appearance, character and overall environment of urban areas. The award is named in honor of a founding partner and retired chief executive of CH2M Hill, a national engineering consulting firm.

"The local projects that won this year's competition are outstanding examples of what resourceful, collaborative, and creative leadership can do to help make our cities and towns better places for everyone," said NLC Executive Director Donald J. Borut. •

December 1993 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 17