Ameren Illinois recently announced that a winner has been honored with the 2024 Gina Meehan-Taylor Damage Prevention Advocacy Award. The award was presented to Chris Schildroth, a Public Awareness Specialist with Ameren Illinois; by the Board of Directors at JULIE, Inc. during their annual meeting held in Joliet on August 1st.

Schildroth was selected from multiple nominees across Illinois for his tireless efforts in safety, outreach, and education. Schildroth travels to various communities to train emergency responders, contractors, and public works groups on handling natural gas emergencies while promoting safe digging practices to the public. 

Ameren Illinois reminds homeowners that marking utility lines is not only a free service, but a legal requirement. To avoid accidents, fines, and costly repairs, Ameren Illinois recommends you start by calling 8-1-1. 8-1-1 is the national call-before-you-dig hotline that automatically connects callers in Illinois to JULIE. The second step is waiting for a professional locator to mark locations of utility lines on your property. The third and final step is to dig safely especially around marked locations while maintaining roughly two feet of space from all paint or flags.

JULIE, is a not-for-profit organization serving 2,000 members across Illinois, excluding Chicago. JULIE does not perform any locating or marking services. For more information on safe digging practices and the award nomination process, go to JULIEBeforeYouDig.com. 

Ameren Illinois provides energy to over 1.2 million electric and 800,000 natural gas customers throughout Illinois. For more details, contact Brian Bretsch at 618-407-6894 or by visiting their website at AmerenIllinois.com