TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Dustin Anderson, Director of Community Development
SUBJECT:
title
Resolution Approving a Grant Agreement with the State of Illinois Department of Natural Resources for the Joliet Oral Histories Context Study Project
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BACKGROUND:
The State of Illinois' Certified Local Government (CLG) matching grant program annually provides preservation and heritage planning opportunities for 83 Illinois municipalities that have been certified by the Illinois State Historic Preservation Office. The City of Joliet-by having a qualified historic preservation commission, Historic Preservation Ordinance, and system for the survey and inventory of local historic resources-is a CLG.
In November 2024, the City of Joliet, through its Historic Preservation Commission, sought a CLG grant in the amount of $21,000 to fund an oral history project focusing on the history and culture of the Joliet area Black community. Such grant funding would leverage the ongoing Joliet Area African American Historic Context Study project to allow for more individual stakeholder engagement, enable high-quality video interviews and creation of a digital archive that can be publicly available.
The City of Joliet was recently notified that it was awarded the requested $21,000 in CLG grant funding for this project.
The Historic Preservation Commission reviewed this agenda item at their April 23, 2025 meeting and recommended approval to the City Council by a 7-0 vote.
CONCLUSION:
Approval of the Grant Agreement with the State of Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the agency that administers funding for the Certified Local Government Grant program, will advance the goals of the Joliet Area African American Historic Context Study and enable oral histories to be recorded as part of this project. The City has the funds to meet the required 30% local match for this reimbursement grant program through its Planning Division Professional Services budget (Org # 0...
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