Palatine Sister Cities program honored

More than 40 municipalities in Illinois are partnered with 90-plus cities on six continents as part of the Illinois Sister Cities Association, but Palatine has managed to stand out among its peers.

The village was named Sister City of the Year for its relationship with Fontenay-le-Comte, France, by the statewide association. The Palatine chapter was honored at both last month's Illinois Municipal League conference and Monday's village council meeting.

Palatine first teamed with Fontenay 15 years ago. Local chapter President Pierre Jabeneau said that while they economy has limited travel exchanges, a number of projects have taken place in recent months.

In one, students from Fremd and Palatine High School exchanged black-and-white photographs with their counterparts in Fontenay. Jabeneau said both towns also organized architectural walks through their respective downtowns on the same day.

Sister Cities is a nonprofit organization started in 1956 by President Dwight Eisenhower, who wanted to encourage citizen diplomacy.