Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – A state building that is getting new life and will house plenty of state employees will soon get a new — and important — name, thanks in part to lawmakers and Governor JB Pritzker.

The Governor’s Mansion — once then-Gov. Jim Edgar’s home — hosted a ceremony Tuesday naming the armory “The Jim Edgar Executive Office Building at the Illinois Armory.”  Edgar died in September, 2025 after a battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 79.

Democrats and Republicans alike attended the ceremony, perhaps just the way Edgar would have wanted, as bipartisanship was one of the things he advocated for.

Pritzker says renaming the armory is possibly the most fitting tribute.

“…Not a monument that simply asks people to remember (Edgar), but a place where people continue his work,” said Pritzker.  “Public servants will walk through the doors of the Jim Edgar Executive Office building committed to solving problems, just like he was.”

Edgar’s daughter Elizabeth, and widow Brenda, were among those in attendance.

“For our family, today isn’t simply about seeing my dad’s name on a building.  It’s about remembering the values (Jim Edgar) believed should always guide public service,” said Elizabeth.  “He believed in governing with compassion, civility, and compromise.”

Sentiments Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, a Democrat, shared.

“Jim Edgar believed government should be a place to solve problems, not to stage them,” said Harmon (D-Oak Park).  “He brought steadied, principled leadership to public service.  He made hard decisions he believed were right.  And, long after leaving office, he continued investing in the people who would carry that work forward.  That legacy is worthy of a permanent place on the capitol complex.  The armory is being renewed for another generation of public service, and now it will carry the name of a leader who devoted so much of his life to exactly that.”

The armory is currently under renovation, paid for, in part, through the Rebuild Illinois capital construction program.  It’s not clear when the work will be complete.

But, when it is, Edgar’s daughter Elizabeth believed her dad would approve — possibly saying, in a humble but proud way — something he said often:  “That’s pretty neat.”