Engelhardt inducted into Lincoln Academy

Irl F. Engelhardt Courtesy The Southern Illinoisan

Irl F. Engelhardt, former chairman and CEO of Peabody Energy, the world's largest coal company, received the highest honor Illinois can award.  On April 26, he was awarded the Order of Lincoln Medallion which inducts him into the Laureates of Lincoln Academy of Illinois.  Established in 1965, the Lincoln Academy was established to honor Illinois' most distinguished citizens.  Past recipients include Ronald Reagan, Walter Payton and Gwendolyn Brooks.  The honorees are chosen by 60 trustees, led by the governor, who elect from 10 categories, including arts, business, religion, education, government and law, medicine and science.  Engelhardt, an MBA alumnus and Hall of Famer, formed the Future of Pinckneyville Foundation and has made contributions to area schools, the county fair and local chamber of commerce.

The following Southern Illinoisan article reported on the event.

Honoring great people

By Blackwell Thomas, The Southern Illinoisan

CARBONDALE - Pomp and pageantry were the order of the evening on the campus of Southern Illinois University Carbondale Saturday as about 500 people gathered in Shryock Auditorium to fete the newest group of Lincoln Academy Laureates.

Six men took home the award this year, which the academy bills as honoring those who have "made contributions to the betterment of mankind" in or on behalf of the state of Illinois.

It is the first time in 13 years that Carbondale has hosted the awards.

A white-tie crowd gathered inside the auditorium and listened as the accomplishments of this year's group of laureates was shared before each was introduced.

Federal Judge Joel Flaum, author and professor David Donald, coal company executive Irl Engelhardt, computer technology entrepreneur Thomas M. Siebel, former SIU Edwardsville President Kenneth Shaw and United Airlines' first black pilot Bill Norwood made up this year's group of laureates.

Greeting each of the winners with their decoration was Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth, who was standing in for Gov. Rod Blagojevich in his role as president of the academy.

Several of the winners made a point of acknowledging their reverence for Duckworth, a former Army pilot who lost both legs after her helicopter was hit by a rocket propelled grenade in Iraq in 2004.

"This medal was handed to me by a true American hero," Flaum said of Duckworth.

Winners kept their speeches short, although each gave glimpses of the paths they're lives had taken on their way to being named laureates.

Norwood, who was the only Carbondale resident of the group, related part of his youth growing up in Centralia and attending a segregated school.

"I learned early that I would have to work twice as hard to get half as far," he said.

Shaw, an Edwardsville native who served as chief of the SIU and University of Wisconsin systems before becoming president of Syracuse University in 1991, made a point of having fun at his own expense.

"I would like to apologize to those who found themselves at the beginning of my learning curve," he said, drawing laughs from the crowd.

After getting his medal, Engelhardt, a Pinckneyville native and former CEO of Peabody Energy, said he'd moved around in Illinois, at various times calling Pinckneyville, Champaign, Carbondale and Chicago home.

"I think I am truly a native of Illinois," he said, smiling.