Niagara Peace & Dialogue Awards 2008

Community Service Award

Pat Quinn

Lt Governor

State of Illinois

A tireless advocate for taxpayers and consumers, environmental conservation, decent health care for all and veterans and members of the armed services, Pat Quinn has re-defined the term community leader.

Quinn holds an international economics degree from Georgetown University and J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law.  For decades he has helped give a public voice to the concerns of Illinois residents. Since 1975, Quinn has organized petition drives for consumer protection laws, tax reform and citizen empowerment.  He spearheaded the 1983 drive to create the Citizens Utility Board.

In 1982 he was elected Commissioner of the Cook County Board of Property Tax Appeals and served as Revenue Director for the City of Chicago.  Quinn served as Illinois State Treasurer from 1991 to 1995, where he cut his office’s budget each year and earned taxpayers $848 million in investment income.

His fight to bring awareness to the issues plaguing the citizens of Illinois is constant. In 2001, he walked across Illinois, from the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan, to promote decent health care for everyone.

Quinn was elected Lt. Governor of Illinois in 2002 and re-elected in 2006.  He serves as chairman of the Illinois River Coordinating Council, the Illinois Green Governments Coordinating Council, the Illinois Main Street Advisory Council, the Rural Affairs Council and the Broadband Deployment Council. 

Quinn led the successful effort to enact the Illinois Military Family Relief Act, which provides financial assistance to families of Illinois National Guard members and Reservists called to active duty. He also spearheaded passage of the “Let Them Rest in Peace Act,” which has been a national model in protecting grieving families from vile and disruptive protests at funerals of servicemen and women.

Fighting for the residents of Illinois every day and over the decades, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn is this year’s Community Service Award winner.