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Civic Awards

Each year the Civic Federation recognizes and pays collective tribute to the outstanding civic contributions of individual citizens and Chicago-area institutions at our Civic Awards Luncheon. The awards are given annually to Chicagoans and Chicago-area businesses that best exemplify the vision of civic involvement espoused by the Civic Federation founders for whom the awards are named.

In keeping with the civic commitment and vision of its first president, the Civic Federation annually presents the Lyman J. Gage Award for Outstanding Civic Contribution to an individual who has consistently demonstrated dedication to civic concerns in the Chicago area. Gage was the president of The First National Bank of Chicago and the driving force behind the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, which was a great financial and cultural success. Gage Award winners advance Chicago’s grand tradition of civic commitment in the business community.

The Addams-Palmer Award is named for two outstanding Chicago women who helped form the Civic Federation—Nobel Peace Prize Winner Jane Addams of Hull House and Bertha Honoré Palmer. Addams and Palmer are most known for their passionate dedication to social reform and widely credited with helping to clean up corruption in local government. The Addams-Palmer Award is given in recognition of outstanding civic involvement by an individual or an institution.

Recipients of the Lyman J. Gage Award:

Recipients of the Addams-Palmer Award: