Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Cook County Commission on Women’s Issues Announces 25th Annual Unsung Heroine Awards
Today, in honor of Women’s History Month, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle joined the Cook County Commission on Women’s Issues in honoring 17 women for their contributions to their communities.
“We are pleased to recognize and acknowledge this year's Unsung Heroines,” said President Preckwinkle. “Their strength, resilience, and sacrifice to better their communities inspire us all. Cook County is a better place because of their work, and we are proud to call them residents in the County we all call home.”
For 25 years, the Peggy A. Montes Unsung Heroine Award is presented to one woman from each of the County’s legislative districts and one from the County at-large. Commissioners from the Cook County Commission on Women’s Issues receive input from the individual districts to identify heroines whose work is significant in Cook County communities yet seldom recognized.
“The Cook County Commission on Women's Issues mission is to elevate the status of women and girls across Cook County,” said Audra Wilson, Chairperson of the Cook County Commission on Women’s Issues. “Today, on the 25th anniversary of the Unsung Heroine Awards, we celebrate that mission and the women who embody these values we hold so dear.”
Recipients of the 2022 Peggy A. Montes Unsung Heroine Award are:
- Carlisa Thomas, At-Large
- Crystal Gardner, 1st District
- Asiaha Butler, 2nd District
- Annette Nance-Holt, 3rd District
- Belle McClandon, 4th District
- Virgil L. Jackson, 5th District
- Lamekia Davis, 6th District
- Maria Esparza, 7th District
- Rosario Villalobos, 8th District
- Arielle Strauss, 9th District
- Eva Panczyk, 10th, District
- Kathleen Cavallone Turney, 11th District
- Willie Shaw, 13th District
- Michelle Valiukenas, 14th District
- Dominice LaPorte, 15th District
- Jamie Kucera, 16th District
- Donna Adam, 17th District