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The Civic Federation was pleased to announce LANETTA HAYNES TURNER, chief of staff in the Office of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, as the recipient of the 32nd Annual Motorola Solutions Foundation Excellence in Public Service Award, presented and administered by the Civic Federation. Thank you to our members, partners and friends who joined us on Dec. 8, 2023 for an award breakfast featuring our honoree.
The Excellence in Public Service Award is an annual recognition of a non-elected government official who has had an extraordinary impact on the quality of state or local government services in Illinois. The award seeks to recognize individuals who show dedication to a vision of quality management, leadership and innovation that leads to lasting achievements and more effective government.
WATCH THE EVENT RECORDING:
WATCH LANETTA HAYNES TURNER'S TRIBUTE VIDEO:
EVENT LOCATION:
Hilton Chicago Continental Ballroom
720 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60605
PROGRAM DETAILS:
- Opening remarks - Civic Federation Vice Chair Jill Wolowitz
- Welcome remarks - Cook County Board of Commissioners President Toni Preckwinkle
- Acknowledgments - Civic Federation Acting President Sarah Wetmore
- Presentation of Excellence in Public Service Award - Motorola Solutions Senior Vice President Cynthia Yazdi
- Video tribute to Cook County Chief of Staff Lanetta Haynes Turner, followed by remarks
- Closing remarks - Civic Federation Vice Chair Jill Wolowitz
HONOREE BIO:
Lanetta Haynes Turner assumed the role of chief of staff for Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle in October 2018. Beyond her day-to-day work, she is responsible for creating and spearheading the County’s historic Equity Fund and Taskforce, a unique initiative in the world of government that boldly addresses historic and continued disinvestment and inequities that negatively affect Black, Latino and other marginalized residents. She also led the establishment of the Intergovernmental Partnership (IGP), a collaboration between the City, County and State in 2021 that, among other items, represents an unprecedented effort between local governments to work with each other to strategically allocate hundreds of millions in federal funding to reduce gun violence and increase community safety in communities and municipalities hardest hit by violence.
Prior to this role, Haynes Turner served as deputy chief of staff, focusing on building the president’s policy agenda and leading the development of the office’s first comprehensive strategic plan. She also served as the executive director of the Cook County Justice Advisory Council, an office charged with advancing the president’s criminal and juvenile justice reform agenda.
Haynes Turner is a graduate of Northwestern University and Loyola University School of Law. A longtime advocate for youth due to her own childhood experiences growing up in foster care, she is committed to public service and working to improve the lives of those most marginalized. She began her career as an attorney with the City of Chicago and then as an attorney with Life Span Center for Legal Services and Advocacy, going on to serve as executive director of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Cook County, which advocates on behalf of abused and neglected children in the foster care system. She later served as the inaugural executive director for Cook County Justice for Children. Haynes Turner is a 2016 Civic Leadership Academy Fellow through the University of Chicago, a 2012 Leadership Greater Chicago Alumni, recipient of the Athena International Young Professional Award and was named one of 100 Women to Watch by Today’s Chicago Woman magazine in 2012. Haynes Turner holds memberships with the Black Women Lawyers’ Association, Chicago Bar Association and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS PARTNER SPONSORS!
Past Honorees
2022 Annette Nance-Holt, Chicago Fire Commissioner
2021 Grace B. Hou, Secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services
2020 Ngozi Ezike, M.D., Director, Illinois Department of Public Health
Allison Arwady, M.D., Commissioner, Chicago Department of Public Health
2019 Dorval Carter, President, Chicago Transit Authority
2018 Jamie Rhee, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Aviation
2017 Arnold Randall, General Superintendent, Cook County Forest Preserve District
2016 Karin M. Norington-Reaves, CEO, Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership
2015 Karen Tamley, Commissioner, Chicago Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities
2014 Rocco Claps, Director, Illinois Department of Human Rights
2013 Rosemarie S. Andolino, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Aviation
2012 Julie Hamos, Director, Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services
2011 Margaret C. Daley, Former First Lady, City of Chicago (recognized as Chicago Public Schools CEO)
2010 James R. Reilly, Trustee, Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority
2009 Judy Erwin, Executive Director, Illinois Board of Higher Education
2008 Arne Duncan, CEO, Chicago Public Schools
2007 Ron Huberman, President, Chicago Transit Authority
2006 Lori Healey, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Planning and Development
2005 Shirley Madigan, Chair, Illinois Arts Council
2004 Terry Peterson, CEO, Chicago Housing Authority
2003 James Joyce, Commissioner, Chicago Fire Department
2002 Pam McDonough, Director, Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs
2001 William Holland, Auditor General, State of Illinois
2000 Mary Dempsey, Commissioner, Chicago Public Library
Audrey McCrimon, Assistant to Secretary, Illinois Department of Human Services
1999 Lois Weisberg, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs
1998 Paul Vallas, CEO, Chicago Public Schools
1997 Jess McDonald, Director, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
1996 Richard Wagner, Director, Illinois Board of Higher Education
1995 Robert Belcaster, Chairman, Chicago Transit Authority
1994 Ruth Rothstein, Director, Cook County Hospital
1993 Mary Decker Laraia, Director, Cook County Capital Planning
1992 Sister Sheila Lyne, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Health