May 15, 2013
The Civic Federation’s Annual Civic Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 will celebrate two honorees who exemplify the high standard of civic commitment that has come to define the City of Chicago, Harrison I. Steans and Motorola Solutions. The awards are named in honor of the prominent civic leaders who founded the Civic Federation in 1894: Jane Addams, Bertha Honoré Palmer and Lyman J. Gage.
Harrison I. Steans, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Financial Investments Corporation, will receive the Lyman J. Gage Award for Outstanding Civic Contribution by an Individual. The award honors a Chicagoan who has consistently demonstrated dedication to civic and community concerns.
Harrison I. Steans and his family have devoted themselves to empowering individuals and revitalizing communities. Guided by the belief that education is the key to unlocking the promise and potential of impoverished communities, Mr. Steans created the Steans Family Foundation in 1986 with his wife Lois and their daughters Heather, Jennifer and Robin. The Foundation was first launched to support the family’s transformative commitment to a class of sixth graders to pay a significant portion of the students’ school costs if they succeeded in graduating high school and getting into a college or trade school.
Guided by this experience, the family focused the Foundation’s work in the west Chicago community of North Lawndale and the community needs that impact school success. The Steans family works side-by-side with neighborhood leaders and residents of North Lawndale to sponsor capacity-building initiatives including early education programs, a learning community network of school principals, a leadership development program for young men, resources for grandparents raising grandchildren and the North Lawndale College Preparatory Charter School. Mr. Steans also serves as trustee of DePaul University, Ravinia Festival, Highland Park Hospital, Civic Committee of the Commercial Club, the Chicago Humanities Festival, the Ounce of Prevention Fund and the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Motorola Solutions will be presented with the Addams-Palmer Award for Exemplary Civic Involvement, given each year in recognition of outstanding civic participation by an institution. Greg Brown, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Motorola Solutions, will accept the award on behalf of the company.
Motorola Solutions provides critical support for public safety and education initiatives in Chicago, with millions of dollars in financial support from the Motorola Solutions Foundation and countless hours of personal involvement by Motorola Solutions employees. Before Motorola Solutions stepped in, Chicago was the largest city without a memorial to honor police officers killed in the line of duty. The Motorola Solutions Foundation was the largest contributor to the Gold Star Families Memorial and Park, which was dedicated just east of Soldier Field in 2006. Motorola Solutions continues to support the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation’s mission beyond the memorial which has provided over $2.6 million since 2007 in assistance to the families of Chicago police officers killed or injured in the line of duty.
The company is also committed to addressing the need for advanced science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education in the United States. In the past 20 years, Motorola Solutions has provided more than $15 million to sponsor teams in the FIRST Robotics competition. In addition to providing financial support, Motorola Solutions employees mentor student teams through the six-week competition to build and program a robot. Many students who participated in the FIRST program have graduated with engineering degrees and now have jobs with Motorola Solutions. This year, the Motorola Solutions Foundation launched a STEM mentoring program at the Chicago Vocational Career Academy. Each freshman student in the Academy’s STEM program is paired with an employee mentor from Motorola Solutions who gives weekly encouragement and real-world connections for the skills the students learn in class. In the program’s first year, school administration has already noticed a measurable increase in the performance of students who have had regular interaction with their Motorola Solutions mentors.
Both awards will be presented at a luncheon attended by Chicago’s civic and business leaders on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at the Swissôtel Chicago, with a reception starting at 11:30 a.m. and the program at noon. To purchase a table or individual reservation for the event, please contact PJH & Associates at (312) 553-2000 or visit www.civicfed.org/events for more information.
The Civic Federation gratefully acknowledges luncheon co-chairs Lester Crown, Daniel L. Goodwin, Andrew J. McKenna and Michael J. Sacks for their leadership of this event.