Landmarks Illinois has awarded $64,828 in grant funding to 11 preservation projects across the state through our three grant programs: the Preservation Heritage Fund, the Barbara C. and Thomas E. Donnelley II Preservation Fund for Illinois and the Timuel D. Black, Jr. Grant Fund for Chicago’s South Side. Grant projects are located in Bloomington, Buncombe, Cairo, Chicago, Crete, Decatur, Hinsdale and Oak Brook.

These grants provide critical seed funding to nonprofit organizations and local governments that are restoring culturally and historically significant places in their communities. Often, the funds are used to address priority repairs and/or to stabilize historic sites. Landmarks Illinois grants also serve as catalysts for fundraising for the overall preservation project.

Applications for the next round of funding through the Landmarks Illinois Timuel D. Black, Jr. Grant Fund for Chicago’s South Side are due January 1, 2026. Applications for the Preservation Heritage Fund and Barbara C. and Thomas E. Donnelley II Preservation Fund for Illinois are due April 1, 2026. Visit their website to learn more.

Preservation Heritage Fund grant recipients

Landmarks Illinois’ Preservation Heritage Fund grants provide monetary assistance to significant structures or sites in Illinois that are under threat of demolition, in imminent deterioration, in need of stabilization, in need of structural or reuse evaluation or need to be evaluated for landmark eligibility.

A total of $32,328 in matching grants has been awarded to seven Illinois preservation efforts in this latest round of grant funding.

• McLean County Historical Society, Bloomington: $2,328 to hire a woodworking specialist for restoration work at the historic Miller-Davis Building, listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Corridor in Central Illinois.
• National Trail of Tears Association, Buncombe: $5,000 for critical repairs to a barn housing the remains of the historic Wayside Store at the Trail of Tears Encampment in Buncombe.
• Cairo Public Library Board of Trustees, Cairo: $5,000 for roof repairs to the Cairo Custom House, a historic government building that opened in 1872 to collect tariffs on imports traded along the Mississippi River and is today home to the Cairo Custom House Museum.
• Filipino American Council of Greater Chicago: $5,000 for crucial masonry repairs to the Rizal Center in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, which serves as a culturally important community center.
• Crete Area Historical Society, Crete: $5,000 to install an ADA-accessible restroom at the Crete Area Historical Society Museum, housed inside a railroad depot and historic church that is significant for its connection to the Underground Railroad.
• World Service Enterprise Organization, Decatur: $5,000 for roof stabilization work at a 150-year-old former church now owned by the World Service Enterprise Organization, which provides educational programs and other resources to underserved local communities.
• Oak Brook Park District, Oak Brook: $5,000 to stabilize the historic Fordon Horse Barn at Saddle Brook Park, a structure used in the 1940s to house competitive polo ponies when Oak Brook was known as the polo capital of the nation.

Donnelley Preservation Fund grant recipients 

The Barbara C. and Thomas E. Donnelley II Preservation Fund for Illinois provides monetary assistance to preserve or protect significant structures and sites in Illinois that are under threat of demolition, in imminent deterioration, in need of stabilization, in need of structural or reuse evaluation or in need of evaluation for landmark eligibility.

One $2,500 grant has been awarded through the Donnelley Preservation Fund.

• Hinsdale Historical Society, Hinsdale: $2,500 to support a National Register of Historic Places nomination for, and a building assessment of the R. Harold Zook Home & Studio in Hinsdale, the former residence of the celebrated Chicago architect R. Harold Zook. 

Timuel D. Black, Jr. Grant Fund for Chicago’s South Side

The Landmarks Illinois Timuel D. Black, Jr. Grant Fund for Chicago’s South Side provides planning and capital matching grants to support nonprofits and for-profit entities working to preserve the history, culture and architecture of Chicago’s South Side. Grants through this fund range from $500 to $10,000 each and are awarded on a 3:1 matching basis.

A total of $30,000 has been awarded to three grant recipients in this funding round.

• By the Hand Club for Kids, Altgeld Gardens: $10,000 for historic preservation consulting services related to the rehabilitation of the Keck & Keck-designed “Up Top” Building in the Altgeld Gardens-Philip Murray Homes Historic District on the city’s Far South Side.
• Calumet Area Industrial Commission, Pullman: $10,000 for restoration of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Vietnam Veterans Memorial Mural. Painted in 1970 and featuring portraits of young men from the parish who lost their lives in the Vietnam War, the mural is one of the earliest large-scale public memorials honoring those who served in the war.
• Haven of Rest Missionary Baptist Church, South Shore: $10,000 for roof and masonry repairs to the Moorish Revival-style multi-colored terra cotta church in preparation for the 100th anniversary of when the building, originally home to a restaurant, was constructed.