The Pekin Community High School District No. 303 Board of Education has established the Distinguished Alumni Award to recognize individuals who were educated and inspired by our school system. Those selected for this honor have distinguished themselves by virtue of their outstanding contributions to the school, community, or society in general. They serve as role models to inspire current and future generations of students.
This year we are honored to recognize four individuals who make up the Class of 2026 Distinguished Alumni. These recipients will be honored in conjunction with Pekin Community High School’s Homecoming festivities on Friday, October 9, 2026.
Matthew Cahill
A 2005 PCHS graduate, Matthew Cahill has gone on to lead a distinguished and accomplished career in the transportation industry. Mr. Cahill serves as the Acting Deputy Administrator and Chief Counsel of the Federal Transit Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation. He is the acting senior executive responsible for day-to-day operations of a federal agency that invests more than $21 billion to support and expand public transportation across the country. These resources reach more than 3,000 locally operated bus and rail systems to help Americans get around on safer, cleaner, more accessible transit systems in urban and rural communities.
Mr. Cahill leads a team of 510 employees administering federal grants and technical assistance, enforcing transit safety measures, ensuring compliance with federal law, and liaising with other Executive Branch officials and Members of Congress. Also serving as the agency’s chief legal officer, Mr. Cahill manages legal strategy and compliance for all agency activities, including financial assistance, oversight, enforcement, legislation, regulation, and litigation. Prior to entering government service, Mr. Cahill was in private practice at Sidley Austin LLP, where he represented clients in the transportation and energy sectors in regulatory and litigation matters and in transactions with values exceeding $5.4 billion.
Early in his career, Mr. Cahill served in consulting and program management roles that advanced notable transportation projects, including the $2 billion Chicago-to-St. Louis High Speed Rail program that improved Amtrak service in Central Illinois. Mr. Cahill began his career with a summer internship at the Federal Transit Administration while he was a college student.
Mr. Cahill is actively involved in his faith community, serving on the board of an international disaster relief ministry and singing in his church’s men’s choir. Mr. Cahill has received pro bono legal service awards for his work on behalf of a railroad safety nonprofit and on behalf of unrepresented tenants and landlords in housing court in Washington, DC.
After graduating as a valedictorian from PCHS, Mr. Cahill graduated summa cum laude from Eureka College with a B.S. in Business Administration, where he was a Ronald W. Reagan Leadership Fellow. Mr. Cahill earned a J.D. from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and an M.B.A. from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management. He resides with his family in the Washington, DC, area.
Walter Tinney Herget
A hard-working engineer and businessman, Mr. Walter Tinney Herget, was a pioneer in the oil industry who developed innovative products and methods to capture and refine oil and also expanded the trade by building new refineries around the world.
A member of the Class of 1937, Walter’s journey began in Pekin where he excelled in both academics and athletics. A National Honor Society member he played in the band and earned a varsity letter in golf. Walter went on to attain a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois, graduating in 1941. Despite his demanding schedule and being legally blind in one eye, Walter pursued his love of sports participating in a variety of intramural sports. He also met his future wife, Grace, on campus and they went on to marry in 1942.
Upon graduation, Walter yearned to enter the oil industry and left Illinois to join the Pan American Refinery Corporation in Texas. As a junior engineer, he helped develop revenue sources from the by-products of refining oil into gasoline. These included paints, varnishes, solvents, and drying oils for industrial consumers. He became a frequent speaker and author for the American Chemical Society and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
Despite his early success in research, Herget’s real interest was in management. He took classes in business management from Harvard, Princeton and SMU, and quickly rose through the ranks of Pan American before it was later called Standard Oil of Indiana and later Amoco Oil. He became the Plant Manager of the Texas City refinery at the young age of 27 before serving as a General Superintendent of the construction of a new refinery in Yorktown, Virginia in 1954.
Transferring to the international side of the oil industry, he was promoted to General Manager of Operations before the age of 40 and lived with his family in Geneva, Switzerland during the height of the Cold War, establishing a new world base on operations for Standard Oil. He was also responsible for building new oil refineries in India, Pakistan, Australia, and Iran.
The Oil Embargo of 1973 required that the US assess its ability to access domestic oil. Walter was tapped to head a joint venture with Gulf Oil to find a reliable way to capture and refine oil without harming the environment of western Colorado. He was able to successfully develop the necessary technology to do this and testified before Congress to obtain the necessary funding for this project.
Mr. Herget eventually retired to the Hot Springs area of Arkansas enjoying fishing and playing golf until his passing in 1992.
Dr. Timmothy J. Schwartz
A 1970 graduate of Pekin Community High School, Dr. Timmothy Schwartz then graduated in 1974 from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Science Degree before earning a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois College of Dentistry in 1977 and his DDS in 1979.
Upon graduation, Dr. Schwartz returned to practice dentistry in Pekin for the entirety of his career. Outside of his practice, Timm professionally was a member of a variety of professional organizations such as the Illinois State Board of Dentistry, the Illinois State Dental Society (holding a variety of roles), and the Peoria District Dental Society to name a few. Dr. Schwartz has also served as a faculty member of the OSF Dental Residency program as well as Illinois Central College offering instruction in both the Dental Hygiene and Anesthesia programs.
Timm’s accomplishments, selfless service and involvement in all aspects of his selected career are endless. He was instrumental in organizing several "Missions of Mercy", a two-day free dental clinic that saw hundreds of dentists and volunteers provide free care to 1,000 patients each day. The seven events provided nearly $8 million in free dental care. Although retired, he is still active in this work offering dental cleaning, sealants, and exams for school-age children in Pekin, Peoria, Bloomington and Decatur.
Outside of his professional activities, Dr. Schwartz has been just as active in his involvement with the Pekin community. He has served the Pekin Elks Lodge, the Pekin Boys and Girls Club, the Pekin Country Club and the Pekin Chamber of Commerce. In addition he has been a part of Pekin’s Economic Development Council, the Dirksen Congressional Research Center Board, and both the Unity Point and Carle Foundation Committees. He also gives back to his alma mater serving as a member of the University of Illinois President’s Council.
Timm is a proud resident of Pekin, living here with his wife Christine and has had a career filled with both professional and personal service to his hometown community.
Stewart J. Umholtz
A 1977 graduate of PCHS, Stewart Umholtz, was raised a son of a steelworker and a nurse. After graduation, he earned an Associate’s Degree in Journalism from Illinois Central College in 1979 and went on to receive a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications/ Journalism from the University of Illinois in 1981. His legal education culminated with a J.D. from the Northern Illinois University College of Law in 1985.
After obtaining his law degree, Mr. Umholtz began his career in public service. From 1985 to 1995, he served as an Assistant State’s Attorney for Tazewell County, handling a broad array of cases including civil, juvenile, traffic, and felony prosecutions. In 1995, he was appointed as the State’s Attorney of Tazewell County, a position he was subsequently elected to and held for 27 years, arguing cases in both the Illinois state courts and federal courts, including matters before the Illinois Supreme Court.
In August of 2022, Mr. Umholtz was appointed Resident Circuit Court Judge in the Tenth Judicial Circuit of Illinois and subsequently elected to a six-year term. With a career spanning several decades, Stewart has been a prominent figure in the Illinois’ prosecution and judicial system. As State’s Attorney, his willingness to tackle difficult cases and his ascent to the judgeship reflect a dedication to public service and the rule of law, especially in his home community.
Mr. Umholtz was named Outstanding Alumnus of Northern Illinois University College of Law in 1996 and has been active in legal and community organizations, including serving on the Board of Governors of the Illinois State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, President of the Illinois State’s Attorneys Association, Board of Governors of the National District Attorneys Association and the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council. Stewart still found time to give back, serving as a volunteer swim coach for several years at PCHS and creating the Tazewell County Children’s Advocacy Center.
A lifelong resident of Tazewell County, Stewart has three adult children. He and his wife, Cindy, enjoy exploring nature and traveling in their free time.