CHICAGO — Former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar, a popular two-term Republican credited with guiding the state into a period of greater financial stability in the 1990s, died Sunday, according to his family. He was 79.

Edgar died from complications related to his treatment for pancreatic cancer, his family said in a statement. He publicly disclosed his cancer diagnosis earlier this year.

“We are deeply grateful for the love, support and kindness so many have shown to Jim and our family over these last several months,” the statement said.

A former state legislator who was Illinois secretary of state for a decade, Edgar was elected governor in 1990. The moderate Republican easily won reelection, including winning heavily Democratic Cook County, where Chicago is located.

He remained a party statesman and adviser, and grew uneasy with the Republican Party’s shift to the right. Edgar was among high-profile Republicans who did not support Donald Trump’s presidency, joining a campaign to support Kamala Harris ′ bid for president last year called “Republicans for Harris.”

Born in small-town Oklahoma, Edgar was much more reserved than his flashy, charming predecessor, James R. Thompson, who was the longest-serving governor in state history. At the time Edgar took office, the state was hundreds of millions of dollars in debt and paying its bills months late.

Amid a recession, Edgar pushed legislators to cut the state budget, making layoffs and cuts in popular programs. He also managed to fulfill his campaign promise of getting a temporary income tax surcharge made permanent, guaranteeing a stable source of money for public schools.

“It wasn’t always pretty how it was done, but we got a lot done,” Edgar told The Associated Press in 1998. “We went after some pretty tough issues. We didn’t get them all, but we got most of them.”

He surprised many political observers when he announced in 1997 that he would not seek a third term, considering his popularity. Republicans tried to draft him to run for office again, including bids for the U.S. Senate and again for Illinois governor. But he did not accept.

Edgar went on to teach and served as president emeritus of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, among other things.

“By any standard, he was a Republican whose integrity guided his time in office and who managed one of the most successful periods in Illinois state government,” Bob Kustra, who served as Edgar’s lieutenant governor, said in a statement.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Sunday that flags in the state would fly at half-staff in Edgar’s honor.

“Now more than ever, we should channel that spirit and resolve to live as Governor Edgar did: with honesty integrity, and an enduring respect for all,” Pritzker, a Democrat, said in a statement. “He will live on in the incalculable number of lives he touched and in the stronger institutions he helped build.”

Edgar is survived by his wife and two children.

His relatives said details on funeral plans would follow in the coming days.

Landmarks Illinois awarded $43,000 in grants to preserve 10 historic sites across the state, including South Shore Cultural Center and Bowen High School in Chicago, the nonprofit preservation group announced Thursday.

The new round of grants from Landmarks Illinois will fund nonprofits, churches and community groups working to restore culturally and historically significant sites in Chicago, Galesburg, Greenup, Kampsville, Naperville and Peoria.

“When we invest in our built environment, in places that matter to people and speak to our shared histories, it has wide-ranging positive impacts on the entire community,” Bonnie McDonald, CEO of Landmarks Illinois, said.

Two new grant recipients are in Austin, a West Side community that has historically experienced disinvestment. “By restoring these places, we create jobs and attract additional investment in the neighborhood,” McDonald said.

Yet Landmarks Illinois has been stifled by funding requirements under President Donald Trump’s administration. The nonprofit had planned to apply for $750,000 from a National Park Service grant program. But it found new government restrictions “require regressive and incomplete versions of American history and dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives,” Landmarks Illinois said in a Tuesday statement.

“As a result of the administration’s ongoing repressive and authoritarian-like actions, we were forced to pass up this significant opportunity to provide vital resources to communities across the state,” the nonprofit added.

Oct. 1 is the next deadline for Landmark Illinois grant applications. Criteria and eligibility varies for three types of grants that range from $500 to $10,000.

Chicago grantees include:

New Precious Grove Missionary Baptist Church in south Austin received $5,000 for roof repairs. The architecturally unique building features a terra cotta facade. It was built in 1912 and was originally home to the Ideal Theatre. The church is run by more than 50 volunteers who lead spiritual services, educational programs and social services.

A House in Austin, a family services nonprofit, received $6,000 to repair the chimney on the historic Victorian home where it’s based. The group has a 75-year history of serving the community, said Landmarks Illinois. It has raised other funds to maintain the house and preserve unique features, such as stained glass windows and fireplaces.

Bowen High School Alumni Association in South Chicago received $2,800 to fund a National Register of Historic Places nomination for Bowen High School. The Chicago Public School was constructed in 1910 and features Chicago School and Prairie architecture styles. It is named for James Bowen, a 19th-century entrepreneur who dredged the Calumet River. The school was an “educational gateway” for the children of immigrants, said Landmarks Illinois.

The South Shore Cultural Center Park Advisory Council will use $2,500 to launch a public awareness project for the overall restoration of the center’s outdoor stage. The stage opened in 1920 but has long been unused and in disrepair due to a lack of funding for maintenance.

Coppin AME Church in Washington Park received $4,700 for roof and masonry repairs to its sanctuary and community center. The church has been a “pillar in the neighborhood” since it opened in 1928, Landmarks Illinois said. The sanctuary’s front door also needs repair after damage during an attempted break-in.

Other grants awarded include:

• The Orpheum Theatre in Galesburg will use its $5,000 grant to replace three exterior doors at the 109-year-old performing arts venue in the city’s National Register-listed Historic District.
• Kampsville in Calhoun County received $5,000 for a feasibility study on the adaptive reuse of a 1907 historic home at the Perrin’s Ledge historic site to create a visitor center. The site marks where Father Marquette and Louis Joliet visited Calhoun County in July 1673 and met local Native Americans.
• Citizens to Preserve Jubilee College in Peoria received $5,000 to restore original windows at Jubilee College, an Illinois State Historic Site, which first opened in 1839 as one of the earliest institutions of higher learning in Illinois.
• Harmony Church in Greenup will use $5,000 to repair floors in its building, built in 1876 by Methodist and Quaker volunteers. An adjacent cemetery is home to many veterans dating back to the Civil War. It also features an original Native American burial mound.
• Naperville Preservation will use $2,000 to conduct an architectural survey of homes built by Don Tosi, a prominent mid-century designer and builder active in Naperville from the 1950s through the 1980s. Tosi has designed and built about 80 homes in the suburb.