Best Illinois Township Website and Best Illinois Township Social Media
by Melanie Jongsma
SOUTH HOLLAND, Ill. (November 2017) – “The Thornton Township website underwent a complete overhaul this year,” said Ernst Lamothe Jr., Community Relations Manager. “The purpose was to create a more informative, interactive, and visually appealing site that would be useful to all our residents regardless of age.” One result of that overhaul was that Thornton Township received two prestigious media awards at the annual Township Officials of Illinois honors event.
Lamothe’s reasoning behind the change was straightforward: “We consider our website the front door to the township. When people want to know about your government body, the first thing they do is search your website. The expectation is that they should be able to find information quickly and clearly.”
Thornton Township website enhancements included:
- Department pages: Thornton Township has 11 departments—Assessor, Clerk, Community Relations, Food and General Assistance, Other Services, Senior Services Special Services, Transportation, Youth and Family Services, and ZAP. Each department now has a page that details the department’s goals and includes a photo and contact info for the department head. A short video shows the director explaining the highlights of his or her department programs.
- Jobs page: Any company from within or outside the township can send information to Thornton Township, and available jobs will be posted to the website. Thornton Township recognizes its role as a resource for residents and businesses.
- Social Media: The new website gives visitors convenient access to all of Thornton Township’s social media sites.
- Community page: A separate page focuses on public high schools within the township and various student accomplishments. Lamothe explained, “We believe in the importance of local government connected to schools. They are the future leaders and we wanted to highlight their achievements.”
Thornton Township Supervisor Frank M. Zuccarelli commended his staff on their accomplishment: “We have never won an award for our communications before, and I am proud of our department. They are doing such great work to educate the community about our services.”
Thornton Township is headquartered at 333 East 162nd Street in South Holland, Illinois. The award-winning Thornton Township website can be found at www.thorntontownship.com.
