Illinois Presents 2019 Airport of the Year Awards

Photo above – Primary Airport of the Year is Quincy Regional Airport. From left are Linda Schumm, Bureau Chief, Aviation Safety and Education, Division of Aeronautics; Kyle Moore, Mayor of Quincy; Sandra Shore, Airport Director, Quincy Regional Airport and Alan Mlacnik, Bureau Chief of Engineering, Division of Aeronautics.

Each year, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Division of Aeronautics staff convenes to select a group of outstanding Illinois airports for special recognition. This year’s airports being recognized are; Quincy Regional Airport (Primary); Lake in the Hills Airport (Reliever); General Aviation Airport of the Year goes to Rochelle Municipal and Effingham County Airport; Cushing Field (Private – Open to the Public; and Heliport of the Year went to Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

Heliport of the Year is the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Pictured from left are Linda Schumm, Division of Aeronautics; Karen Arndt, Director of Interfacility Transport and Sheila Nally, Safety Coordinator, both with Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; and Alan Mlacnik, Division of Aeronautics.

Selections are based primarily on the following criteria:

• Cooperation, coordination and communication with the Division of Aeronautics by the airport manager and their staff

• Safety record of the facility

• Promotion of seminars and aviation events

• Promotion of aviation in general

• Maintenance of the facility

Congratulations to the 2019 winners!

Kim Stevens

Kim Stevens is the publisher of State Aviation Journal, which he founded in 2009. A longtime commercial-rated pilot, he was introduced to state aviation in 1992 as Director of the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics, later serving as Deputy Division Director for the Arizona Department of Transportation's Aeronautics Division. From 2013 to 2018, he was Director of Communications and Operations for the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) in Washington, D.C. Relocating to North Carolina, Kim worked for the Raleigh-Durham International Airport for two years and now concentrates solely on the Journal. Prior to his aviation career, Kim spent a decade in the newspaper and magazine business.