Online Voting Begins in Illinois Tollway Map Cover Art Contest

Submitted by the Illinois Tollway.

The public can go online and vote for a favorite entry in the 2016 Illinois Tollway Map Cover Art Contest, sponsored by the Illinois Tollway, Blick Art Materials and MB Real Estate Services Inc.

Voting will continue through Oct. 30.

The top 10 semifinalist entries in the student art contest can be viewed on the Tollway’s website at www.illinoistollway.com and will be displayed at Illinois Tollway oases.

High school students in the 12 counties served by the Illinois Tollway were invited to submit original works of art created to promote the conservation of monarch butterflies, the state insect of Illinois. The Tollway received more than 75 entries from 33 schools throughout the region, from Chicago to Rockford.

While monarchs are found across the United States – as recently as 1996 numbering some 1 billion – their numbers have declined by approximately 90 percent in recent years, a result of numerous threats, particularly loss of habitat due to agricultural practices, development and cropland conversion, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Entries submitted by student artists focus on the importance of monarch butterflies to our environment and the use of land along interstate highways to provide a food source and refuge for monarch butterflies through Northern Illinois

The top four entries will move on to the next level of judging. The grand prize winner and three runners-up will be selected by a panel of judges that includes members of the Tollway Board of Directors and representatives from MBRE.

2016 Tollway Map Art Contest Semifinalists

• Perri Bentley, Bolingbrook High School
• Christina Borrego, Lyons Township High School
• Sophia Di Iorio, Downers Grove North High School
• Jesus Garcia, Steinmetz College Prep
• Javier Gutierrez, Reavis High School
• Theresa Kerovac, Lake Forest High School
• Claire Kovarik, Downers Grove North High School
• Anna Peterson, Rockford Christian High School
• Cecilia Schmitt, Hononegah High School
• Anastasia Voelker, Wheaton North High School

Members of the general public are invited to go online to the Illinois Tollway’s website at illinoistollway.com to view the semifinalists’ artwork and vote for the top four entries. The 10 semifinalist entries can also be viewed at six Illinois Tollway oases display galleries.

Artwork created by the grand prize winner will be featured on the cover of the Tollway’s 2016 map, which is distributed at no cost to more than 100,000 customers. Three runners-up will be featured in the Tollway’s annual report. Awards include:

• Grand prize winner: $400 gift certificate from Blick Art Materials and $200 in gift certificates from MBRE to use at oases retail shops and restaurants
• Runners-up: $200 gift certificate from Blick Art Materials and $100 in gift certificates from MBRE
• Winners will be acknowledged at the Illinois Tollway Board of Directors meeting on November 19, 2015
• All students who participate in the contest will receive a certificate of appreciation