Mt. Greenwood Olympian Tommy Shimoda Awarded Order Of Lincoln

MT. GREENWOOD, IL — Mt. Greenwood resident Tommy Shimoda joined the ranks of NASA astronauts, war heroes, and groundbreaking scientists when he was awarded the Order of Lincoln, Illinois’s highest honor for personal and professional achievement. The award is announced by the governor, and honors “Illinois residents whose work uplifts every community in the state.”

Shimoda, just 28 years old, is autistic and cannot speak. Despite that challenge, Shimoda has become a veritable Olympic powerhouse who has amassed hundreds of Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals at various Special Olympic competitions. He has competed in speed skating, hockey, snowshoeing, horseback riding, water polo, track and field, and basketball, among other sports, according to the Lincoln Academy of Illinois, the awarding institution. He was the only Chicagoan to join Team USA for the 2017 Special Olympics in Austria, where won a gold and a bronze in two speed skating competitions. That year, he became the only Special Olympian to receive an honorary Excellence in Sports Yearly (ESPY) Award from ESPN.

In Mt. Greenwood, Shimoda volunteers with the Mt. Greenwood Special Recreation Association at Mt. Greenwood Park, and with city park maintenance and youth sports programs.

Related:

South Side Speed Skater Tommy Shimoda Wins Gold In Special Olympics Winter Games

“What we look for is individuals who exemplify what Abraham Lincoln stood for, the positive power of influence and helping the community and helping society,” Lincoln Academy Executive Director Julie Kellner told the Beverly Review. “When you look at someone like Tommy, he volunteers; he has excelled to the most of his ability in every way … he’s just a good person, and exemplifies the strength of character that we look for.”

Shimoda joins just seven other recipients who were awarded the prestigious prize:

• Joanne C. Smith, who researched medicine and physical rehabilitation for people with severe conditions;
• Captain Scott Altman, a former NASA astronaut, U.S. Navy captain, engineer, and test pilot;
• Carol Ross Barney, an architect and urban planner who designed the Chicago Riverwalk and the Fullerton and Belmont Avenue metro stations;
• Major General John Borling, a Vietnam War fighter pilot who spent seven years a prisoner of war, and later led a distinguished career in government defense;
• John Andrew McQuown, a financial expert who pioneered the use of stock index funds;
• John Rogers, an engineer and professor who has developed technology to help save premature babies;
• Mavis Staples, a Kennedy Center honoree and inductee to the Rock and Roll, Gospel Music, and Blues halls of fame, whose eclectic music played a powerful role in the Civil Rights Movement.

This year’s group will receive their awards at a Nov. 6 gala at the Chicago History Museum.

“This year’s Order of Lincoln recipients represent the values that make Illinois great. Hard work, innovation, and determination have long been the foundation of our communities and the eight recipients of the Order of Lincoln have exhibited all of that and more,” Governor JB Pritzker said in a news release. “I’m so proud to award these talented men and women with our state’s highest honor and I