Maitland, John and Joanne

John and Joanne Maitland have served McLean County for more than 30 years, both as a couple and as individual public servants and volunteers.

John was born July 29, 1936; Joanne was born Sept. 18, 1937. They met during the Future Farmers of America/Future Homemakers of America Spring Dance at Normal Community High School in 1953. They married Dec. 19, 1956, not long after John joined the U.S. Marine Corps.

John’s deep roots with agriculture stemmed from his childhood living and working on a farm just west of Danvers. Even after his family moved to Normal, he continued learning and working as a member of 4-H and the Future Farmers of America. In 1959, John became a full-time farmer and an active member of the McLean County Farm Bureau. He would go on to work with agriculture-related legislation and policy in the Illinois Senate in 1978. He was elected seven times to the 44th District where he would serve the needs of Central Illinois constituents for 24 years.

As “Dean of the Senate,” John was considered a friend of farming and an advocate for strengthening the state’s commitment to education and health care. Many groups honored his service with dozens of awards, including the Illinois Farm Bureau, the Illinois Health Care Association, and the Association of School Boards. He was the Republican Senate sponsor for virtually all substantive changes in the Illinois School Code and created and served on the Task Force on School Finance to better determine state spending on K-12 students in different geographic areas. He became Assistant Majority Leader in 1993 and served as chairman of the Appropriations Committee and the Higher and Secondary Education Committee. He helped secure funds for major projects across the district, including the construction funds for the State Farm Hall of Business on the ISU campus.

After his retirement in 2002 following a severe stroke, Sen. John Maitland was awarded the prestigious Medal of Lincoln which is the highest award given by the Lincoln Academy of Illinois (2003).

Joanne also served the citizens of the 44th District, volunteering for community programs and often assisting with constituent calls and visits at the Maitland home. She took a professional approach to her volunteer career, balancing work with dozens of charities and boards with her deep commitment to their three children and the Maitland farm.

Joanne served as president of the United Way of McLean County and served on the United Way of Illinois board. She was president of the McLean County Homemakers, president of the McLean County Board of Health and served on the board of directors for BroMenn Healthcare and the Mennonite College of Nursing. She helped Mennonite College of Nursing receive its university accreditation, becoming the first single purpose college in the nation. Joanne also co-chaired the Community Cancer Center’s successful $6 million capital campaign. She was appointed to the Illinois State University Board of Trustees in 2002 and wrapped up her final term last spring.

When she was honored during the YWCA’s “Women of Distinction” in 2010, colleagues wrote, “Joanne Maitland gives a gift to current and future generations of a lasting legacy that lives on through the programs she has worked to establish and through the achievements of the people who have benefited from them.”

In 1995, John received the ISU "E. Burton Mercier Alumni Achievement Award" and the school’s “Commitment to Education Award” carries his name. The Illinois Health Care Association awards a nursing scholarship each year in honor of his advocacy for support of long-term care.

John and Joanne have three children, Jodi, Johnny, Jay, and eight grandchildren and one great-grandson.