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Illinois REALTOR® Jim Kinney (center) has been named to the Illinois Bicentennial Commission by Gov. Bruce Rauner. Kinney is a past president of Illinois REALTORS® and a former president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS®. He’s joined here by Vicky Turner, chair of the Illinois REALTORS® Bicentennial Task Force (left) and Sheryl Grider Whitehurst, vice chair of the Illinois REALTOR® Bicentennial Task Force. (right) Photo: Ann Londrigan
Illinois REALTOR® Jim Kinney was named to the Illinois Bicentennial Commission Friday by Gov. Bruce Rauner, placing him on a 51-member panel which will shape the state’s 200th birthday celebration.
Kinney, vice president for luxury sales at Baird & Warner in Chicago, was 2015 Illinois REALTORS® president and was named Illinois REALTOR® of the Year in 2004. He was president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS®, and has served on REALTOR® association committees at the local, state and national levels.
Illinois became the nation’s 21st state on Dec. 3, 1818.
Rauner established the Illinois Bicentennial Commission in September. Members are charged with developing a strategic vision for the celebration, and will spearhead work with public and private partners on the birthday commemoration.
State association also working on bicentennial
Illinois REALTORS® plan to celebrate the state’s 200th anniversary by asking members to adopt historic sites throughout Illinois.
Illinois REALTORS® began planning for its celebration of the bicentennial earlier this year. The association’s Bicentennial Task Force, led by Chair Vicky Turner, of Dixon, and Vice Chair Sheryl Grider Whitehurst, of Peoria, adopted a theme of “Illinois REALTORS®, working with heart in every community.”
The association’s task force is reaching out to the more than 20 local REALTOR® associations in the state, asking them to get members involved in the celebration by volunteering at or supporting some of the many historic properties in Illinois.
Illinois REALTORS® is located across from the Illinois Executive Mansion. Already, members have raised more than $50,000 for renovations to the historic structure which serves as the Springfield home for state governors.
Now, the state association’s task force is working to redevelop parking lots adjoining Illinois REALTORS® South Fifth Street headquarters into a portion of a pedestrian walkway linking Abraham Lincoln’s home with the state Capitol.
The state association has set up a Facebook page to provide updates on efforts to celebrate the bicentennial. A Twitter hashtag, #REALTORSworkingwithHeart, has also been established.
