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Main Street Day at the Capitol     Send a link to a friend

[APRIL 14, 2005]  SPRINGFIELD -- Today (Thursday), beginning at noon, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn will celebrate Illinois Main Street Day at the Capitol with representatives from 58 Illinois Main Street communities. Quinn will also drive home the program's message of preservation, growth and tourism.

"Main Street communities are great examples of how hard work, volunteerism and dedication can keep a strong community going," Quinn said.

The Illinois Main Street program provides training on how to develop a vision for preservation and growth, insight about creating a strong Main Street organization, and feedback from Main Street architects. Since its inception, Main Street communities have reported net gains of more than 1,500 new downtown businesses and created more than 3,200 full-time jobs.

As part of Illinois Main Street Day at the Capitol, community leaders will set up information booths and displays, speak to legislators about the benefits of the Main Street program, and have a group photo on the east steps of the Capitol.

"This is a great opportunity to showcase how the program works and how it's bringing new ideas, jobs and tourist dollars to towns all across the state," Quinn said.

One area Quinn wants communities to explore is technology. "Being connected to the World Wide Web will not only help introduce tourists to these areas but will also help businesses branch out across the globe," he said.

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The lieutenant governor's office administers the Illinois Main Street program, which is based on a national model that offers communities help with issues of historic preservation, economic development and downtown improvements. Illinois is one of 40 states that belong to the national Main Street program, administered through the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

"We inducted two new Main Street communities this year, Bloomington and Momence," Quinn said. "The excitement and energy in these communities are already catching on to those who live, shop and visit there."

Senate Joint Resolution 10, sponsored by Sen. Debbie Halvorson, D-Crete, would make the first Saturday in June of every year Main Street Day in Illinois.

For more information on the Illinois Main Street program, visit www.illinoismainstreet.org.

[News release from the lieutenant governor's office]

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