Herald-Whig Best of the 'Burg (Quincy): How Voting Works & How to Win

What exactly is the Herald-Whig Best of the 'Burg?

Best of the 'Burg is the reader-driven business honour that The Herald-Whig, the Quincy, Illinois newspaper, puts in front of its hometown audience. Each edition lives on the paper's own hub at whig.secondstreetapp.com, which runs on Second Street, the platform that also powers the masthead's surveys and sweepstakes. The 2026 entry carried the full title 2026 Best of the 'Burg sponsored By Drew Shanks, putting the sponsor's name straight into the programme branding.

The ballot is registered as a nomination-and-voting combination, so a single continuous flow covers bringing a business forward and backing the finished slate. Paying to participate is not part of the design; a reader's vote costs nothing, and the competitive edge comes from how many customers, clients and friends each nominee rallies before the close.

Who stands behind it

The Herald-Whig works out of downtown Quincy and belongs to Quincy Media, and the programme's registration on Second Street carries the paper's own organisation name. That makes the newsroom, rather than an outside events outfit, the accountable party for the ballot's rules and its results.

When does the Best of the 'Burg window open and shut?

The clearest dates attached to the programme belong to the 2026 edition: voting opened on April 20, 2026 and shut on June 6, 2026, and the ballot now reads closed. That stretch gave nominating and voting a single continuous run, with no separately advertised phases.

The programme is no newcomer. Confirmed editions stand at 2022 and 2026, which makes the 'Burg a returning fixture on the Herald-Whig calendar rather than a trial run. The cycle following 2026 is expected in 2027, and the paper's hub is where an opening announcement would surface first.

Fine print is thinner than the dates. Beyond the window, the paper publishes neither a category slate nor any cap on submissions nor who qualifies to take part; confirm on the live ballot each cycle.

How does a supporter cast a vote in the 'Burg ballot?

A single address does the whole job: https://whig.secondstreetapp.com/2026-Best-of-the-Burg-sponsored-By-Drew-Shanks. While a window is open, that page serves the full ballot in an ordinary browser on a phone, tablet or desktop, with no app and no download. The sponsor's name travels inside the address itself, so anyone landing there sees the Drew Shanks branding before the first click.

The ballot's registered type matters. It is built as a nomination-and-voting combination, so bringing a business onto the slate and backing a name already on it happen in the same place. Every submitted pick lifts that entry's standing, and the standings, not a judging panel, decide the order at the close.

Two practical points stay unresolved on the surface layer. The listing does not state whether a sign-in gates the ballot, and it does not state how frequently a visitor may return, so whatever instructions appear beside the ballot outrank anything assumed beforehand.

Where the ballot sits among the paper's campaigns

The Herald-Whig keeps several promotions on its Second Street hub at once, from NIE surveys to sweepstakes. Only the nomination-and-voting entry gathers support for Quincy businesses, so supporters should head straight for the 'Burg address rather than the hub's front door while a window is live.

How does the 'Burg compare with other Illinois reader ballots?

Illinois readers have no shortage of choice ballots, and the programmes listed alongside this one show the range. Best of Chicago from the Chicago Reader works a major metro market; CommunityVotes Peoria and CommunityVotes Rockford run city votes on a purpose-built community platform; Sauk Valley Favorites serves Sterling; a People's Choice honour tied to the BAGI Parade of Homes and Chicago Style Weddings Best Of cover narrower niches.

Against that field the 'Burg is distinctive on three counts. It belongs to a newspaper, The Herald-Whig, rather than an events brand or a voting network; it carries its sponsor inside the title, as the Drew Shanks branding shows; and its 2026 window sat in spring, running from April 20 to June 6.

The publisher's own hub adds context. The same Second Street organisation behind the 'Burg also schedules Best of Phelps County 2026 and Best of Pulaski County 2026, two county ballots set for October 1 through December 1 in 2026, plus a 20 Under 40 survey. A Quincy business planning a sustained push therefore faces two calendars on one hub: the hometown spring ballot and the autumn county rounds.

A hometown scale, not a statewide sweep

Nothing in the programme's public face points beyond its own market; the ballot addresses Quincy and the businesses there. Readers wanting broader Illinois coverage will find it on the state's other listed ballots instead.

How can a nominee gather more support in the 'Burg?

The ballot rewards mobilised customers, so the groundwork starts well before voting does. A business eyeing the 2027 cycle should ask regulars face to face, put the ballot link in receipts and email newsletters, and post a named plea on its social channels while the window is open. Because The Herald-Whig publishes no outside-help policy with the listing, keep every push open and customer-driven, and reread the ballot's own instructions before trying anything inventive. Supporters who want the fuller playbook can study the votes guide, and the award-ballot route is described on the award votes page. Neither changes what the organiser permits, and paid backing never locks in a podium spot on a tally the newspaper counts itself.