TOWNSHIP OFFICIALS OF ILLINOIS GIVES FOUR AWARDS TO SOUTH SUBURBAN CHICAGO TOWNSHIP

hornton Township recently received four awards from the Township Officials of Illinois organizations that oversees over 10,000 township officials across the state. Photo Credit: Provided by Thornton Township
hornton Township recently received four awards from the Township Officials of Illinois organizations that oversees over 10,000 township officials across the state. Photo Credit: Provided by Thornton Township

Township Officials Of Illinois Gives Four Awards To South Suburban Chicago Township

BY KATHERINE NEWMAN

Thornton Township was recently honored with four awards by the Township Officials of Illinois. The awards included, Best Township Social Media, Best Township Communication Messenger of the Year; Ernst Lamothe Jr., Most Innovative Township Program Award, and Best General Assistance Caseworker of the Year; Lakeela Jennings.

Township Officials of Illinois is a statewide organization, headquartered in Springfield, that represents and oversees upwards of 10,000 township officials and township operations across all of Illinois.

Illinois townships are charged with three basic functions. They provide general assistance for the indigent and conduct assessments of real property for the basis of local taxation. They also ensure the maintenance of all roads and bridges outside federal, state, and other local jurisdiction, according to the Township Officials of Illinois website.

“The Township Officials of Illinois is the overarching umbrella that takes care of the hundreds of townships throughout the state. They help with resources and help oversee the things that we individually do throughout Illinois,” said Ernst Lamothe Jr, community relations manager for Thornton Township.

As the recipient of Best Township Communication Messenger of the Year, Lamothe said that he is honored to be recognized for the work that he puts in to make sure all residents of Thornton Township know about the services, resources, and community activities that are available to them.

“I always say that local government affects people more than anything that is happening nationally. We tend to focus on what is happening in Washington D.C. but the services you get every day from your village or your town or your city are the ones that can change the quality of your life so we want to be able to get out our message in many different ways,” said Lamothe.

As the community relations manager, Lamothe is also responsible for maintaining Thornton Township’s social media pages so in a way, he is also the recipient of the Best Township Social Media award. Lamothe said the social media is a valuable tool to reach a wider range of people in the community.

“The old school ways was to just simply hand out flyers and hope that people got the information or maybe provide it through a newsletter that would come out once a quarter. Now, anybody from the range of teenager to senior citizens participates in some type of social media platform because there are so many,” said Lamothe.

While Thornton Township still does print flyers and sends out a newsletter, they have expanded their range through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube.

“The reason social media is important is that it allows us to send the information right to our resident’s inbox and become part of their daily lives so they don’t have to search for anything because the information is coming straight to them.

Anything that we can do to make it easier for people to know about the various services that we provide can make their lives better,” said Lamothe.

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