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When the Illinois Main Street program was named to Landmarks Illinois’ annual “Ten Most Endangered Historic Places” list in April, it was experiencing some extremely hard times.
“They weren’t providing the staff and support they were supposed to,” said Jennifer Faivre, executive director of the Downtown St. Charles Partnership. For the past 18 years, St. Charles has been member community of Illinois Main Street, a preservation-based downtown revitalization program for municipalities.
The state-run program was moved from being operated out of the Lieutenant Governor’s Office to falling under the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity in June. Illinois Main Street was suspended by the National Main Street Center and lost accreditation for a short period of time, Faivre said, but DCEO officials are now working very hard to restore the program to what it once was.
“I was just called on last week by the folks out of (DCEO),” Faivre said. “As far as I’m concerned, I look forward to them providing assistance to our program.”
Faivre said the state program provides assistance including board training and ongoing professional training for the Downtown St. Charles Partnership’s 17 new committee board members.
Faivre said after her first day with the partnership in November, she had to undergo training from the National Main Street Center.
“There was no training available (at the state level) for the Main Street program at that time,” Faivre said. “I didn’t even bother trying to contact (Illinois Main Street) anymore. I just went to the national center and they were very supportive. ... They have really stepped up support to various Illinois Main Street programs.”
Landmarks Illinois, a statewide historic preservation nonprofit, said state budget cuts to the Illinois Main Street program have eliminated all technical assistance services, a large number of staff and the annual statewide conference.
Landmarks Illinois CEO Jim Peters said in an April news release the Main Street program has been one of the great economic development success stories in Illinois and needs to return to full capacity.
Started in 1993 to assist municipalities with downtown preservation and improvement, the Illinois Main Street program has 56 member communities and has generated more than $400 million in downtown reinvestment and created more than 4,800 jobs, according to Landmarks Illinois.
“(DCEO) is working to implement recommendations by the National Trust Main Street Center to ensure this program can continue to thrive,” DCEO representative Marcelyn Love said.
When the Illinois Main Street program was named to Landmarks Illinois’ annual “Ten Most Endangered Historic Places” list in April, it was experiencing some extremely hard times.
“They weren’t providing the staff and support they were supposed to,” said Jennifer Faivre, executive director of the Downtown St. Charles Partnership. For the past 18 years, St. Charles has been member community of Illinois Main Street, a preservation-based downtown revitalization program for municipalities.
The state-run program was moved from being operated out of the Lieutenant Governor’s Office to falling under the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity in June. Illinois Main Street was suspended by the National Main Street Center and lost accreditation for a short period of time, Faivre said, but DCEO officials are now working very hard to restore the program to what it once was.
“I was just called on last week by the folks out of (DCEO),” Faivre said. “As far as I’m concerned, I look forward to them providing assistance to our program.”
Faivre said the state program provides assistance including board training and ongoing professional training for the Downtown St. Charles Partnership’s 17 new committee board members.
Faivre said after her first day with the partnership in November, she had to undergo training from the National Main Street Center.
“There was no training available (at the state level) for the Main Street program at that time,” Faivre said. “I didn’t even bother trying to contact (Illinois Main Street) anymore. I just went to the national center and they were very supportive. ... They have really stepped up support to various Illinois Main Street programs.”
Landmarks Illinois, a statewide historic preservation nonprofit, said state budget cuts to the Illinois Main Street program have eliminated all technical assistance services, a large number of staff and the annual statewide conference.
Landmarks Illinois CEO Jim Peters said in an April news release the Main Street program has been one of the great economic development success stories in Illinois and needs to return to full capacity.
Started in 1993 to assist municipalities with downtown preservation and improvement, the Illinois Main Street program has 56 member communities and has generated more than $400 million in downtown reinvestment and created more than 4,800 jobs, according to Landmarks Illinois.
“(DCEO) is working to implement recommendations by the National Trust Main Street Center to ensure this program can continue to thrive,” DCEO representative Marcelyn Love said.
Love said the department is in the process of hiring someone to work full-time as the Illinois Main Street coordinator, and 25 staff members from DCEO’s Office of Regional Outreach are currently working with Illinois Main Street communities within their region.
“By taking these steps, we can ensure that this important program is continuing to support our downtown communities, and fostering economic growth throughout the state,” Love said.
Faivre said St. Charles wasn’t negatively affected by Illinois Main Street’s suspension, but smaller towns could have been hurt by the lapse in services. She said she’s excited to see DCEO is trying to get the program up and running again.
“I came away from (the meeting with DCEO last week) with a really positive feeling about Illinois Main Street,” Faivre said. “I really think the state of Illinois likes the Main Street program and doesn’t want to see it go away.”
