LFHS Student Wins Illinois Tollway Art Contest

A sophomore at Lake Forest High School is the grand prize winner of the 2016 Illinois Tollway Map Cover Art Contest and have her work displayed on the cover of the Tollway’s 2016 system map.

Theresa Kerouac’s submission beat out more than 75 entries from 33 schools throughout the 12-county region covered by the Tollway. The contest invited students to submit original works of art created to promote the conservation of monarch butterflies.

“I enjoyed making this art piece and learning about monarchs for the Illinois Tollway art contest,” Kerouac said. “This was a great opportunity and I would like to thank my amazing art teacher, Mrs. Bielski.”

After ten semi-finalists were chosen, more than 27,000 voted on picking the four finalists. A panel of judges including members of the Illinois Tollway Board of Directors and representatives from MB Real Estate Services Inc. then selected the winner.

“The Tollway map cover contest gives young artists a great opportunity to learn how art can promote an idea and bring awareness to so many,” said Illinois Tollway Executive Director Greg Bedalov. “We are honored that Theresa Kerouac’s winning artwork will appear on the cover of the Tollway’s 2016 system map and will raise awareness for monarch habitat conservation efforts in Illinois.”

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, according to the Tollway.

Runner-ups in the contest included Perri Bentley of Bolingbrook High School, Cecilia Schmitt of Hononegah High School in Rockton and Anna Peterson of Rockford Christian High School in Rockford.

The contest was sponsored by the Illinois Tollway, Blick Art Materials and MB Real Estate.