Betty White’s life and career won’t just be celebrated in one corner of Illinois –her hometown is creating a full-on holiday to honor her. 

“Betty White Day” will be recognized in Betty’s hometown of Oak Park, IL on January 17, which would have been her 100th birthday. The president of the Village of Oak Park, Vicki Scaman, tells TMZ … despite moving to California as an infant, OP residents have been grateful that over the course of her life Betty spoke very highly of Oak Park. She continued to visit relatives there years after heading west. 

A few days before Betty’s birthday, Village Prez Scaman will read a proclamation for “Betty White Day” during a memorial for community members in Oak Park.  For Betty’s special day, the Oak Park small business community is banding together to offer discounts to customers and “Betty White specials.” For example, Mickey’s Restaurant will be offering a special consisting of a hotdog, fries, and diet coke — one of Betty’s favorite meals, and Turano Bakery is planning to make a giant birthday cake. And you’ll see cutouts of Betty on walls in the downtown area.The celebration will continue with a Betty White mural contest, in which the winning mural will be painted downtown. And, there’s a bonus … most everyone in town will already be off from work as BWD happens to fall on a national holiday — MLK Jr. Day — this year.

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