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BOEHMR.JOHN CHICAGO BOOTH INSIGHTS: Weighing the complications of going nonprofit. PAGE9 THE TAKEAWAY: Meet Mayer Brown’s new Chicago leader PAGE 3

In his rst three years as Cook County assessor, Fritz Kaegi angered commercial landlords by hiking their assessments—a lot. ey’re not going to be much happier with him in year four.

North Suburban landlords get more bad news as a new round of reassessments begins

Northern Illinois faces a power plant gap

multistate region from northern Illinois to the mid-Atlantic. PJM blames the closing of fossil fuel plants—which to date has been driven by poor economics but soon will be mandated by the state’s year-old Climate & Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA—for a projected capacity gap that will force the area to look elsewhere for power by 2030 at the latest.

Fritz Kaegi

FINANCE

CRAIN’S LISTS what execs at area nonprofits are down.pulling

Kaegi

at’s the conclusion of a new report by PJM Interconnection, the power-grid manager for a

See KAEGI on Page 37 See POWER on Page 37 THE PANDEMIC APPEARS TO HAVE PERMANENTLY ALTERED the way we work, and this year’s top places to work reflect those changes. Once again this year, Crain’s partnered with Best Companies Group to survey employees and identify the 100 Best Places to Work. I PAGE 17 CHICAGOBUSINESS.COM | SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 | $3.50

‘Slow and steady’ isn’t winning the race at Ariel

James Delany

the 13 townships in northern Cook County this year. e total assessed value of all nonresidential properties in the nine townships rose 43.4% from 2021, versus a 32.4% increase for homeowners, according to a preliminary analysis of data from the

propertycommercialtargetsagain

John Rogers Jr.

Report says the area will need electricity from elsewhere as Pritzker shuts coal- and gas- red generators

e elimination of carbonemitting power plants in Illinois over the next 20 years will leave the Chicago area without enough generating capacity to meet its needs, forcing the region to import electricity from other states for the rst time in modern memory.

Kaegi’s o ce has been delivering unwelcome news to owners of many commercial properties in the northern and northwestern suburbs this year. He’s raising their assessments again, fueling fears of more property tax hikes in 2023 and preserving his persona non grata status among many in the Chicago business community who say he’s driving away investors and killing the local economy.

Kaegi has reassessed nine of

See

BY STEVE DANIELS

BY ALBY GALLUN

e mortgage application and origination data tell a similar story. Mortgage applications fell faster than mortgage originations in the past year, according to data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. at signals that borrowers are better quali ed, with higher credit scores.

Added Irizarry, “Maybe the city needs to compensate them for their losses.”

2 SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS WILLRETURNNEXTWEEK GREG HINZ For J.D. Power 2022 award information, visit jdpower.com/awards

One key detail: Cars will race along East Jackson Drive imme diately south of the Art Institute of Chicago, according to a map released by the city as part of its initial announcement. Other por tions of the route will a ect the ability of drivers and pedestrians to reach the Shedd Aquarium, Ad ler Planetarium and Field Muse um on what for most is one of the busiest weekends of the year.

FEW DETAILS

Katie Rahn, vice president of marketing and communications at the Art Institute, says it’s still researching the noise and vi bration issue, and until it learns more, it’s unable to reach a rm conclusion.“We’vebeen in communica tion with the city,” she said. “I know they’re working on it. e information is supposed to be coming.”ecommission released a statement saying it, NASCAR and the park district “are working

years, Wintrust Community Banks have gone above and beyond for the people and communities where we work and live.

e city has not disclosed how much it will make from the event for the use of its streets. e park district will get a cut of revenues but has not provided an overall estimate of what it will get be yond the promised $500,000 per mit fee.

BY GREG HINZ

preceding the global nancial crisis, the pandemic mortgage market wasn’t plagued with poor underwriting procedures and, in some cases, predatory practices. Today’s homeowners can simply sit out this slowing market or price their home to sell—either scenario would prevent a large

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ith more would-be buyers priced out of the market, home values na tionwide saw a monthly decline for the rst time since 2012, according to Zillow data. But while a slowing housing market gives potential buyers a little breathing room, in most cases potential sellers still hold the cards. at means that while the market has seen—and will likely continue to see—healthy price cuts, we’re unlikely to see a wave of desperate sello s like we saw in the Global Financial Crisis. e importance of housing valuations cannot be overstated—changes in house prices have a larger impact on household consumption and the overall economy than changes in stock market prices.

For than 30

NASCAR race worries Chicago’s museums

We’re

Concern is rising fast among Chicago’s big downtown muse ums about the impact of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s planned NASCAR race next Fourth of July week end on their operations and safe ty.

are in the driver’s seat

is is true across mortgage products, including those that are often stigmatized for their role in the last housing downturn. When compared to the period preceding the global nancial crisis, recent borrowers who applied Equity-richbecausetightenedaaoverleveragedlargequarterfellandisincomevicing debt payments.spendingthanincomesroughlygagecomprisedmortgages—whichfor adjustable-ratehaverecentlyabout12%ofallmort-applicationscomparedwith40%in2005—havehigherandlargerdownpaymentsthetypicalloanapplicant.Lastly,U.S.householdsarelessoftheirincomeser-eshareofspentondebtrepaymentlowerthanbeforethepandemic,mortgagedelinquencyratestoa 43-yearlow inthesecondofthisyear.Duringthehousingcrash,anumberofhomeownerswereandcouldnolongerordtheirmortgagepayments.Asresult,defaultriskincreased,creditandtimetosellincreasedthesehighlyindebtedhomeowners

e Lightfoot administration has said almost nothing about details of the event since announcing it in July. What is known is that the “Chi cago Street Race” will occur July 1 and 2; tie up portions of Grant Park for weeks; and require the shut down of portions of DuSable Lake Shore Drive, Michigan and Colum bus avenues, and other streets—at least on racing days.

homeowners were less able to lower their asking prices.

The Art Institute, the Field, the Shedd and others want to know: What’ll happen to priceless artworks and relics with race cars tearing around downtown?

ran said. at’s a magnitude larg er than the roughly $90,000 the Shedd loses each day during Lol lapalooza, which occupies por tions of the same area later in the summer, Curran said.

Evidence suggests that a combination of labor market uncertainty and tighter credit constraints were two of the main drivers of the housing crash that prompted the global nancial crisis and Great Recession. e opposite is true of

e city’s Sports Commission says in a statement that any con cerns will be resolved in upcom ing meetings. But it’s been weeks since the cultural institutions rst met with the city and Chicago Park District to air the issue, and they’re still awaiting promised details about which streets will be closed for how long and whether there will be any risk to priceless but fragile objects in the Art In stitute from vibrations and loud noises from racing stock cars.

Normal museum operations

closely . . . to ensure that the 2023 Chicago Street Race is delivered in a way that minimizes impact on local residents and the sur rounding area while creating an experience that all Chicagoans can enjoy.”estatement added that a tra c management plan “is in development that will ensure that nearby cultural institutions have su cient access for their daily operation sta and for all visitors.” However, the statement provided no details and spokes man Isaac Reichman could not immediately answer which streets will be closed when or indicate whether the cultural in stitutions will be reimbursed for any nancial losses.

proud to have been ranked best in customer satisfaction in retail banking in Illinois by J.D. Power. Community banking is founded on strong relationships, and our customers know that Wintrust will stand with them through it all. That’s the Wintrust difference.

Crain’s contributor Orphe Divounguy is a senior economist at Zillow Group and former chief economist at the Illinois Policy Institute. e views presented here do not necessarily re ect the views of his employers.

“We’re concerned about our ability to stay on mission, includ ing operating or educational pro grams,” says Meghan Curran, chief marketing and experience o cer at the Shedd. is is our very busi est period of the year,” with 10,000 people a day typically visiting in July.Based on what’s been disclosed so far, the Shedd estimates it could lose $1.5 million in revenue, Cur

“We’re very concerned about any restriction on access for visi tors and sta ,” said Bridgette Rus sell, spokeswoman for the Field Museum. “ is time of year is our busiest season.”

and a weekend of high-speed racing “are not compatible,” says Juanita Irizarry, head of Friends of the Parks, an advocacy group which is familiar with the racing concerns. “ is race will detract from the museums and the ability of people to get there.”

As the Fed continues its battle to lower in ation, concern is swirling about a crash in house prices and potentially another nancial crisis.

But this time is di erent. Homeowners have less debt, substantial amounts of home equity and, at least for now, face much lower risk of job loss. Even though the market has cooled, in most cases potential sellers of existing homes remain in the driver’s seat. ose who don’t absolutely need to move have the option to sit out the current market or to price their homes to sell fast. at will keep inventory growth subdued. And low inventory means buyers’ options will remain limited.

Today, sellers aren’t desperate. ey would only enter this market if the bene t outweighs the cost— which now includes giving up a low 30-year xed rate mortgage for today’s much higher rate. And that means that most sellers anticipate their house will sell for less than it would have only a couple of months ago, while still selling for a lot more than it would have at the start of the pandemic. In 2008, 49% of Realtors had a client with a distressed sale; today, it’s only 1%. In contrast with the years

surge in housing inventory.

the labor market and credit today. e labor market remains very strong, with twice as many job openings than there are people actively seeking work. And years of tighter mortgage lending standards and strong home value appreciation mean that homeowners have higher credit scores and more home equity than in the past, drastically lowering the potential for desperate sellers to ood the market.

ment tax bills, usually issued in June with payment due in August, have yet to be issued.

As you might expect, Advocate and Atrium reject those claims, ar guing that the merger will be good

Still, Skogsbergh said “we think the outcome is absolutely going to be an approval.”

e merger would create the na tion’s fth-largest hospital chain, with combined annual revenue of $27 billion, 67 hospitals in six states and nearly 150,000 employ ees. Advocate currently operates 27 hospitals in Illinois and Wis consin, with $14 billion in revenue and 75,000 employees.

the $800,000 range had to put about $16,000 in escrow when the bill will likely turn out to be more like $8,000, Fogarty said.

An antitrust lawsuit in Wis consin alleges that Advocate Aurora has used its dominance in that state to drive up prices, and cautions that the proposed merger with Atrium “would further in crease its market power.”

Cook County’s delayed tax bills creating home sale headaches

Hospital combos need tougher scrutiny

BLOOMBERG

e two funds Rogers manages or co-manages have hit bottom in year-to-date performance. According to Morningstar metrics, one fund languishes in the 99th peer-group percentile, the other in the 96th.

See TAX BILLS on Page 38

“ e bottom-line impact on my clients is the cash they need to close is arti cially in ated while we wait for an an swer,” Fogarty said. A client who bought a Wicker Park condo in

“It’s a giant headache,” said Kelli Fogarty, an attorney at Fog arty & Fugate, a real estate law rm based in the West Loop. “We all have to sit here guessing how much money people owe.”

ARIEL’S OVERALL ASSETS MANAGEMENTUNDER HAVE STAGNATED AT ABOUT $16 BILLION AS PORTFOLIO RETURNS PLUMMET.

John Rogers Jr.

Critics warn that Chicagoans will feel those e ects if Advocate merges with Atrium.

e proposed transaction has potentially serious implications for health care in communities across metropolitan Chicago. Advocate not only is the biggest local hospital operator, but also owns clinics and doctors’ o ces throughout the region. Control over that network would shift from local executives to o cials in North Carolina if the merger goes through.Advocate’s combination with Atrium would be the latest in a wave of hospital mergers that are creating sprawling multistate chains with far greater reach and market power than individual hospitals. e dealmaking has sparked concerns about the impact of consolidation on health care costs and quality. Studies show hospital mergers lead to price hikes but don’t improve care.

After hitting a breakneck pace in 2020, Chicago’s biggest player in the mutual fund world has stumbled a bit I

See ARIEL on Page 36

e months-long delay in Cook County’s property tax bills is causing a snarl in home sale closings, because nobody knows how much money to put up for the tax bill.

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • S E PT EM BER 19, 2022 3

The ambiguous response of Illinois hospital regulators to the proposed merger of the area’s largest hospital chain with a North Carolina chain highlights weak oversight of health care consolidation.eIllinoisHealth Facilities & Services Review Board voted 3-2 on the morning of Sept. 13 to deny Downers Grove-based Advocate Aurora Health a regulatory “ex emption” it needs to combine with Atrium Health. A few hours later, the board reconsidered, allowing the hospitals to try again.

“Obviously, we don’t want to hold it up any more than it has to be,” board administrator John Kniery told industry publication Healthcare Dive.

In July, Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle said the bills will be issued by the end of the year, with payment due by Dec. 31. A spokesman for Preckwin kle con rmed last week that the bills are expected out in Decem ber, which would be about six monthsWithoutlate.knowing how much the bill will be, title companies can’t accurately estimate how much each party will owe. e general practice is to overes timate, said Julie Cwik, senior

He may well be right. e FTC might choose to direct its limit ed resources elsewhere, leaving Illinois vulnerable to a hospital merger that could drive up costs without improving care. Tougher state-level scrutiny of hospital mergers could ll that regulatory gap. CAHILL ON BUSINESS

“ e proposed merger will likely reduce the quality and increase the cost of health care in Chicago land,” health care workers union SEIU Healthcare wrote in a ling with the health facilities board.

After its founding nearly 40 years ago, Ariel became a leading Blackowned rm in Chicago and one of the city’s few signi cant mutual fund companies. Rogers has been at the helm all the way, building a promi nent national pro le with service on blue-chip corporate boards while

No wonder Advocate says it’s “con dent our combination is still on track to close by the end of the year.”Any hope for a substantive review of the merger’s e ect on prices, competition and care lies with antitrust enforcers at the Federal Trade Commission. A few years ago, the agency successfully challenged Advocate’s plan to merge with NorthShore University HealthSystem, on the grounds that the combination would wield too much market power in the north ernAndsuburbs. theFTC appears to be taking a close look at the Advo cate-Atrium deal. Skogsbergh told the Milwaukee Business Journal last week that FTC o cials had requested additional information on the merger, a sign they may be considering a challenge.

At the closing of a home pur chase, the title company puts money in an escrow account to cover the estimated portion of the latest tax bill the now-de parted sellers owe when it ar rives. It’s based on how much of the tax period the property was owed by the sellers and how much by the buyers. While the amount is the sellers’ responsi bility, the usual way it’s covered is that at closing, the buyer gets a credit from the seller to cover the taxes when they come due.

for patients in their markets.

John Rogers Jr. is headed for his 65th birthday next March but not out the door anytime soon, he insists, at Ariel Investments, the mu tual fund rm caught in a slump this year.

MARKET POWER

CONCERNS

BY DENNIS RODKIN

To be fair, the board may not have much authority to examine the merits of the merger. As Ad vocate points out, the applicable state law says “an exemption shall be approved when information required by the Board by rule is submitted.” So if the hospitals cough up the additional details board members want, they may have no choice but to sign o .

Without knowing how much the bill will be, title companies can’t accurately estimate how much each party will owe. ‘It’s a giant headache,’ one attorney says.

e county’s second-install

Who’s right? Chicago-area com munities, employers and health insurance companies deserve an answer to that question. And health care regulators should provide it.

If regulators approve the deal, the combined company would be headquartered in Atrium’s hometown of Charlotte, and Atrium CEO Eugene Woods would become the sole boss after sharing the title with Advocate’s Jim Skogs bergh for 18 months.

BY STEVEN R. STRAHLER

Ariel’s ‘slow and steady’ isn’t winning the race

JOE

Unfortunately, the health facil ities board shows little appetite for digging into the merger’s likely impact on costs and quality. Its explanation of its Sept. 13 twostep suggests more concern for the merger timetable. A board o cial said the agency initially voted against the deal because the hospitals hadn’t provided enough information on who would control operations going forward. e re consideration, he said, gives them time to provide additional infor mation without having to le a new application for a merger they had hoped to close by Sept. 30.

ENERGIZED

“ ere’s a lot of strengths to Chicago,’’ Emanuel said. “You know what its No. 1 strength is? ItsPlayingpeople.’’up that core essence of Chicago is likely good politics, no matter the stage.

On how Chicago is viewed as a place to do business and invest in, well that’s where the picture is still a little fuzzy, it seems. We can only guess the recent headlines on crime haven’t helped.

The former mayor, now President Joe Biden’s ambassador to Japan, believes the dynamics of international trade have shifted— and that Chicago has a role to play in the new order if its leaders develop ‘a comprehensive strategy’

BY ALLY MAROTTI

“Now there is a premium you’re going to pay for predict ability because it is worth some thing. It was never worth some thing before.’’

Kempczinski said he talks up the positive parts of Chicago—the lakefront, diversity, relatively low cost of living—but “it shouldn’t be this hard.”ereneeds to be better collab oration between the public and private sectors, he said. Improv ing crime should be the rst pri ority. Kempczinski said he knows the city is focused on the issue, but business leaders don’t know what the city’s plan is.

McDonald’s CEO Chris Kemp czinski railed on Chicago and its crime issues last week in an e ort to rally the city and its business leaders to improve the place their companies call home.

“I don’t buy this argument that this is the end of globalization. It’s another chapter of globaliza

McDonald’s executive) to relo cate to Chicago from one of our other o ces than it was just a few years ago. It’s more di cult for me to recruit a new employee to McDonald’s to join us in Chicago than it was in the past.”

It’s not corporate altruism moti vating the company to stay in Chi cago, Kempczinski said. It makes good business sense to stay here. But more and more companies are choosing to leave.

COMPETITION

Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel returned to Chicago this month, his rst public trip back since be ing named U.S. ambassador to Japan. And as per usual, he was not short on words, though the sound bites now take on a more global avor.

Seeming a lot more energized than when he ended his tumultu ous second term as mayor with out trying for a third, Emanuel’s penchant for arguing his position and egging on foes like an over weening boxer hasn’t wavered. It’s the perch and the perspective that have changed.

But is Chicago poised to take advantage of its strengths in the changing global order? It’s been a long time since the city was viewed as competing against growing suburban or region al Midwest markets. Chicago’s competition now is Los Angeles, Berlin and Seoul, rather than Naperville.isisas far as Emanuel would go: “Chicago is a good bet, in the short term. Now, you have to or ganize your assets into a compre hensive strategy.’’

So where does that leave Chi

a massive drought. And Chicago has an abundance of water. at has a value when you’re thinking longHeterm.’’tells this story: When he was mayor and was recruiting a company deciding between Chicago and Dallas, he asked the CEO why he would consider Dal las. “In ve years, you’ll be com ing up here to take a shower,’’ he said. “I said that to the CEO and he started laughing. I said, ‘You think I’m joking?’ You can’t take it for granted anymore.”

At an event with the Chicago Council on Global A airs and in interviews afterward, Emanuel wanted to focus on one thing— international economics, his new catchphrase.Talkingpoints around a new era in globalization have re placed his sparring around very-Chicago topics like schools, public pension liabilities and po licing.What was clear in a wideranging interview Sept. 9 is that he has no desire to publicly discuss Chicago’s current gun violence and crime problems, the upcom ing gubernatorial election, or any of the other issues that would nor mally dominate a conversation.

tion that takes on di erent char acteristics,’’ he said. And by that, Emanuel bets that more stable economies and regions that are more dependable will be win ners in the global economy. Market access that once was a driving factor for growth, he argues, is giving way to energy stability and security. Cost and e ciencies are being replaced by sustainability.

Rahm’s new view of Chicago—from 6,300 miles away

the Chinese Communist Party went after me and the spokes man for the Russian government went after me,’’ he said. “Yeah, and I’m just a little guy in Tokyo, just eating sushi.’’

Emanuel continues to see strengths when it comes to glob al competition. Many of the at tributes he used to play up to corporate CEOs and investors when he was mayor—the city’s universities (“brains still count for something’’), geography and transportation still play in its fa vor, he contends.

McDonald’s has been head quartered in the Chicago area since its founding and relocated to the West Loop from Oak Brook in 2018. McDonald’s isn’t going anywhere, Kempczinski told ex ecutives and members of the Eco nomic Club of Chicago on Sept. 14. In fact, it announced that it’s moving its innovation center downtown from Romeoville. But something needs to change.

“Let us know the plan so we can support it,” he said. “It’s going to take partnership.”ebusinessclimate in Chicago

it wasn’t a “foregone conclusion” that McDonald’s would relocate to the city from the suburbs in 2018, or that it would even stay in Illinois. He still hears from mayors and gov ernors trying to recruit McDonald’s to move to their cities and states.

“In our business, other people’s perception becomes our reality,” he said. “We have to act like it’s the reality, whether we believe it or not.”McDonald’s, of course, has a vested interest in seeing crime stats improve in Chicago. It goes beyond recruiting and getting employees

“I do kind of take pride in that

Kempczinski asked the audience to imagine if McDonald’s wasn’t headquartered in Chicago. He said

“ at’s one of the things about McDonald’s,” Kempczinski said. “Whatever’s happening in society, good or bad, you can be sure it’s happening at McDonald’s.”

cago on the global stage?

Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks with Crain’s Jim Kirk at the Chicago Council on Global A airs.

But he believes access to water is Chicago’s long-term trump card now. “Everywhere you turn right now, there’s a drought. China’s got a massive drought. Europe’s got a massive drought. e West has

needs to improve as well, as does the infrastructure, he said. Chicago also needs to do a better job at tell ing the positive parts of its story, so the negatives don’t dominate.

4 SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

Instead, his focus is on China’s “coercion,” the “weaponization’’ of Russia’s energy, and most espe cially, how he believes economic stability will turn the tide in Amer ica’s ongoing superpower horse race with a weakened China.

BOEHMR.JOHN

“ ere’s a general sense out there that our city is in crisis,” he said. “ e truth is, it’s more di cult today for me to convince (a

Kempczinski isn’t the rst CEO to criticize the city and its crime problem. Citadel founder Ken Gri n leveled harsh criticism at Gov. J.B. Pritzker and decried ris ing crime in Chicago before mov ing his rm to McDonald’sFlorida.operates rough ly 400 restaurants in Chicago, in almost every neighborhood, and has spent $20 million in recent years renovating those restau rants. It employs thousands. e company’s annual economic contribution to Cook County is about $2 billion a year.

Just this year, Boeing, Caterpillar and Citadel have all announced that they would move their corpo rate headquarters out of Chicago. at’s bad news for Chicago, re gardless of what the crime stats are.

Jim Kirk is executive editor and publisher of Crain’s Chicago Business.

McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski rails on Chicago and its crime issues, in an e ort to rally the city and business leaders to improve the place their companies call home

to start working in the o ce again. With locations in many of the city’s neighborhoods, McDonald’s restaurants occasionally become crime scenes. Nine people were shot outside a Near North Side McDonald’s this spring. In 2021, a 7-year-old girl was shot in a West Side McDonald’s drive-thru. ere are also overdoses hap pening in McDonald’s restaurants, and the city’s homelessness issues also become evident.

McDonald’s CEO: ‘Our city is in crisis’

BY JIM KIRK

McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski

But when it comes to global trade, Emanuel turns serious. He is convinced that we are entering a new era after coming out of a time of great churn and volatility, where a premium will be paid on what he refers to as predictability and stability.

*“Minority Entrepreneurs.” Minority Entrepreneurs — U.S. Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Credit Opportunity Lender © 2022 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved. Wh at w ould y ou l ik e th e power to d o? ® Learn more at bankofameric a.co m/chic ago

Believing is the first step

Th ese par tn er s help women ent repreneurs and entrepreneurs o f color est ablish an d grow t heir businesses, create jobs a n d im prove financial s ta bilit y in loc al communities across t h e count ry

Ri ta S ol a Co ok Pr esid en t, B an k of A merica C hica go

We knowthat it takes more than a great id ea to star t and keep a business running. My teammates and I in Chicago wa nt to ma ke sure ever y big believer has th e oppor tunity to achieve and reach th eir goals.

In t h e last dec ade, mor e t han 5 0 % of all new businesses created were diver se ow ned.* It’s why B an k of A merica has t aken an innovative, indust ry-leading approach to help fuel g rowt h by supporting mission-focused equit y funds , Communit y Development Fin ancial Institutions and Minor it y Depositor y Institutions, including m HUB Product Impac t Fund I, Chingona Ventures and All ies for Communit y Business.

We’re empowering entrepreneurs to take the nex t one

How is your own work-life balance?

By Steven R. Strahler

Debra Bogo-Ernst

Did you work with your former partner Lori Lightfoot before she left to do something else?

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I see your name everywhere: BOGO Free, BOGO 50% o . Oh, buy one, get one! My maiden name is Bogosavljevic. My dad’s from Yugoslavia; he came here as a boy when his mother died. When I was growing up, when we made reservations at restaurants, we wouldn’t use the whole name, as you might imagine. We were the Bogos, and when I got married, I picked a compromise.

It’s a great thing. I like to think I am a good role model for the associates who are coming up—somebody who made partner at both (income and equity) levels while I was out on maternity leave. I didn’t go on an alternative work schedule, which I think is great for folks to consider. Seeing somebody with a family who’s been able to succeed at Mayer Brown is just a great thing for women coming up and, frankly, the men, too, because men take paternity leave here.

I did not work directly with Lori. I knew her very well. We got along great when she was here. She is a very charismatic person.

Mine is really good. When I was coming up in the ranks, I would say I’m going to go home and eat dinner with my kids (two sons) and hop back on the computer. There was no stigmatism with that. That kind of philosophy has continued. I still get to go home at a reasonable hour, which is important to me.

6 SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS THE TAKEAWAY

I don’t know. We can never predict these things.

What do you say about polls citing workplace culture and lack of career opportunities as bigger factors than child care issues for women who leave Big Law?

I haven’t heard culture and lack of career opportunities as complaints here at Mayer Brown. Would I love that (gender-balance) number to be 50-50? I think that’s challenging to get those numbers to 50-50, but we are highly focused on that.

Do you expect her back someday?

Bogo-Ernst, who became head of Mayer Brown’s Chicago o ce in July, has spent her entire career at the law rm after growing up in the northwest suburbs. She also co-leads the rm’s consumer and class-action (defense) practice and plans to spend about three-quarters of her time lawyering, the rest administering. Bogo-Ernst, 47, starts her latest job at a time when the legal industry, like others, is wrestling with return-to-work issues, and big law rms are competing to poach highperforming lawyers while struggling with an exodus of women frustrated by slow promotions. Mayer Brown and other big rms tend to hire more women than men but remain 60% male on average because women leave at higher rates. I

You’re the third consecutive woman to head the o ce. So, old news in a good way?

last year on the $58 million Brid geview Bank redevelopment after landing $44 million in construc tion nancing for the project. In addition to apartments on floors five through 12 and the WeWork space, the revamped property will include 13,500 square feet of retail space and 19,000 square feet of traditional office space. A spokeswoman for the firm said Cedar Street spent much of the past year restoring the lower floors of the building and work is now underway on the apartments, which are due to be completed by mid-2023.

Savannah College of Art & Design Forty Residence Hall Atlanta, Georgia

The Uptown space, built out among ornate windows and re commissioned bank teller spac es in the 97-year-old building, will include 60 private offices with a total of 176 desks, as well as private phone booth offices and kitchen spaces. Some space will be dedicated for members of WeWork’s All Access program, which offers monthly subscrip tions and access to hundreds of WeWork locations globally.

a traditional arms-length lease, but instead manages co-working space and shares revenue with landlords, thereby sharing the risk that comes with operating o ce space whose users don’t have to make long-term commitments.CedarStreet said in the state ment that the Uptown partner ship also “opens up the possibil ity for future WeWork-managed locations across the (Cedar Street) portfolio where there is demand.”CedarStreet, which has been one of the busiest apartment de velopers in the city, began work

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • S E PT EM BER 19, 2022 7 ...

Under management agreements, a co-working provider doesn’t sign

The location in the landmark Bridgeview Bank building will be the co-working giant’s rst on the city’s North Side and a rare deal in a residential property

WeWork opening in Uptown apartment project

ADDITIONS

THE LOCATION MARKS

UPTOWN

The Chicago developer turning Uptown’s landmark Bridgeview Bank building into apartments has enlisted WeWork to operate co-working space on the proper ty’s lower floors, the shared-of fice giant’s first location on Chi cago’s North Side.

corporating co-working into their buildings to help attract new users and o er a exible o ce space perk to existing ones. Ce dar Street and WeWork are bet ting co-working will add value to apartments, too.

WeWork’s Bridgeview Bank building location will be its 12th in Chicago and its third new local space to open this year, following the January debut of o ces at 448 N. LaSalle Drive in River North and a location in May at 167 N. Green St. in the Fulton Market District.

WEWORK’S FIRST SPACESTRATEGYCOMPANY’SALANDLORDAGREEMENTMANAGEMENTWITHAINCHICAGO,DEPARTUREFROMTHEPREVIOUSOFLEASINGDIRECTLY.

SHARING RISK

In a rare deal by WeWork in a residential property, the New York-based company will run a 25,000-square-foot, two-story co-working space in the grand hall of the 12-story building at 4753 N. Broadway, which is being transformed by Chicago-based developer Cedar Street into 176 apartments.WeWorkis scheduled to open the space this fall, marking the first time it has partnered with a residential developer to of fer co-working as an amenity to people who will live there.

e deal highlights the evolving role co-working providers are play ing in commercial real estate with more people working remotely. Companies struggling to gure out their o ce needs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic have driv en up demand for space o ered by WeWork and its competitors, which can be leased by the month. More o ce landlords are in

“People want greater flexibili ty in where, when and how they work,” WeWork Chief Operating Officer Melinda Holland said in a statement announcing the Ce dar Street partnership. “As many workers desire the in-person col laboration and connection that the office affords, they also want the option of an office environ ment closer to home—resulting in increased demand for flex space outside of downtown.”

We see our work through the eyes of the people who will use them every day. Through their eyes, we see places of innovation, industry, technology, healing, research and entertainment. The result? Powerful structures with impacts that reach far beyond these walls.

BY DANNY ECKER

claycorp.com

The Uptown location also marks WeWork’s first manage ment agreement with a land lord in Chicago, a common deal structure today, but a departure from the company’s previous strategy of leasing space direct ly from landlords and then sub leasing it to co-working users.

The CitizenM outdoor terrace.

BY DANNY ECKER

At 150 square feet per room— picture a California king bed stretching from wall to wall—the hotel is said to be Chicago’s rst micro-room inn, with rooms that are less than half the size of those in the average U.S. hotel. Each of the 280 rooms (with the exception of some that are com pliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act) across 10 oors in the tower are just under 8 feet wide and 22 feet deep, complete with a compact bathroom and closet.

CitizenM is entering the Chi cago market at the end of a strong summer for downtown hotels. Booming leisure travel drove up occupancy to almost pre-pandemic levels, while room rates surpassed where they were in 2019. It was desperately needed relief for hotel owners in the city after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic muzzled demand, a stretch that devastat ed hotel bottom lines and sent several into foreclosure.

from corporate in uence. Some argued that was a part of why it worked: Detachment from bu reaucracy fostered more creativity. Speedee Labs will bring the inno vation team together with teams from McDonald’s corporate o ce.

BLOOMBERGECKERDANNYBYPHOTOS

CitizenM frames itself as be ing ahead on all of that. Guests check in at lobby kiosks, rooms are almost entirely controlled by a mobile app and sta members in the hotel play multiple guest service roles, including bartend ing.

The CitizenM, which o ers 150-square-foot rooms, is due to open this week on Michigan Avenue

“Our customers and restaurant teams’ needs are changing, and meeting their expectations re quires us to work together in new ways,” Manu Steijaert, McDon ald’s executive vice president and chief customer o cer, said in the news release.

Look inside Chicago’s first micro-room hotel

SHIFTING OPERATIONS

Speedee Labs will occupy some of McDonald’s existing footprint at 110 N. Carpenter St. and lease an additional 15,000 square feet in the building. It is expected to open in phases, starting in the second half of 2023. at’s also when the Ro meoville employees will relocate.

BY ALLY MAROTTI

e public health crisis—and a subsequent labor shortage— forced many hoteliers to adjust their operations with things like mobile check-in and check-out, more touchless technology, and fewer employees to run the properties and service guests.

In a city of broad shoulders and no little plans, a Europe an hotel chain is hoping to win over visitors by thinking small.

to its Morewebsite.hotelchains have explored micro-room hotel concepts in re cent years as a way to build less expensive, more e cient proper ties as the cost of developing and owning real estate—particularly in urban locations—skyrockets, said Rob Hunden, president of ho tel consultancy Hunden Strategic Partners.“Cruise ships have been de signing in this manner for years . . . recognizing that the size of the room is not the primary driver of the stay, it’s the loca tion,” Hunden said. “In a place like downtown Chicago or New York, or sailing the oceans, the size of the room is secondary to the experience outside the room.”Inthat vein, CitizenM touts the experience in its communal spaces as well, which include multiple co-working spaces and walls adorned with quirky art with nods to Chicago, like a picture of Dennis Rodman in a Bulls jersey and a giant wall art hot dog–with only mustard on it–overlooking the lobby.

The main lobby at the CitizenM.

e CitizenM Chicago has a separate entrance but shares some amenity space with the 289 apartment units above in the 47-story tower, dubbed Mil lie on Michigan. A Sterling Bay spokesman said the apartments began leasing in the spring and are about 32% leased today.

RAPID EXPANSION

owns and operates all of its ho tels, has opened ve this year alone and aims to have 40 hotels up and running by 2024.

testing since it opened almost 30 years ago. It served as a place to test ideas from employees, fran chisees and vendors. A story Crain’s reported in 2006 said it tested 2,000 ideas the prior year, but only a handful made the cut. Back then, it was testing selfserve ordering kiosks and verti cal grills that could cook ham burgers unattended. It tried an automatic French fry packer but tabled the idea.

In the news release, Mayor Lori Lightfoot lauded the company for

e lab will focus on creating restaurant solutions and technol ogies, McDonald’s said Sept. 14 in a news release. e roughly 120 employees from the burger giant’s Innovation Center in Romeoville, which opened in 1995, will be giv en the option to relocate to the city. McDonald’s will exit the Romeo ville lease at the end of 2023.

The hamburger giant will give 120 employees the option to relocate from its Romeoville Innovation Center to the new facility

McDonald’s is calling the new facility Speedee Labs. It’s named for the Speedee Service System that founders—and brothers— Dick and Mac McDonald es tablished in 1948, when they streamlined kitchen processes at their San Bernardino, Calif., hamburger joint and turned

it into a well-oiled fast-food machine. McDonald’s wants Speedee Labs to come up with innovations that will continue to get people through the line faster and drive growth.

Dutch hotel brand CitizenM this week will debut its rst Chi cago location in the lower por tion of a new mixed-use tower at 300 N. Michigan Ave., com pleted earlier this year by devel opers Sterling Bay and Magellan Development Group.

CitizenM hotel rooms are 150 square feet.

ose operations allow the hotel to “spend money where it should be spent” on things like high-quality showers and linens, technology and other touch points that guests care about, Wagner said. e chain markets itself as an “a ordable luxury” hotel, with Chicago room week end rates ranging from $130 up to around $300 per night in Oc tober and November, according

Sterling Bay and Magellan began construction on the $250 million tower early in the pan demic after landing a $174.5 million construction loan from Little Rock, Ark.-based Bank OZK.

JOINING FORCES

More recently, the center de veloped or tested McDelivery, Mobile Order and Pay, and up dated cooking methods, accord ing to the McDonald’s release. Even back before McDonald’s relocated its headquarters from Oak Brook to Chicago in 2018, the Romeoville facility was miles away

8 SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

“continuing to bet on Chicago.” McDonald’s said it is not receiving nancial incentives for the move. Following the announcement, CEO Chris Kempczinski that same day railed on Chicago and its crime issues, calling on the city and busi ness leaders to work together to improve public safety (see Page 4).

McDonald’s is planning to open a new innovation lab at its West Loop headquarters.

McDonald’s opening innovation lab in West Loop

e Romeoville Innovation Center has o ered live restaurant

It’s a concept that has long been common in Europe and has expanded in recent years in the U.S., particularly in New York City. CitizenM’s Chicago loca tion will be its 29th globally, up from just 12 less than four years ago, said Katerina Wagner, global public relations manager for the hotel chain. e company, which

Situated on a stretch of down town that has been saturated with new hotels over the past decade, CitizenM is looking to stand out from the pack with a tiny distinction: It has the small est rooms in the city.

As always, speak with an attor ney and a tax professional before making a nal decision—but go into those meetings with a realis tic understanding of the entity’s dependence on sources of funding available to nonpro ts and poten tial sources of income that could add to the bottom line regardless of entity type.

Does the entity need to have tax-

For-pro t business models are arguably straightforward: Com panies create products or o er services the market needs, and customers provide the revenue stream. Nonpro ts have grant funding, donations and other philanthropy available as fund ing mechanisms, in addition to the ability to generate revenue like for-pro t ventures. Nonpro t

ot-for-pro t corporations communicate their iden tity as purpose-focused ventures in their entity choice.

Colloquially known as “nonprof its,” these corporations are not owned by any individual and do not give returns to shareholders; the intended purpose is to create a social or public good.

Nonpro t leaders also must be prepared to wait for tax-exempt status. Currently, forms led with the IRS nine months ago for tax-exempt status have yet to be processed.Forthose weighing a traditional nonpro t model against a for-pro t social enterprise or perhaps one of the new entity types created by many states, like a B corporation, here is a set of questions to consider:

Have grants been identi ed that have a high likelihood of success, particularly as a new nonpro t without a track record?

If grants are not secured, or if do nations are lower than expected, what earned revenue (goods or services sold) could be generated by the nonpro t? e IRS receives over 95,000 non pro t applications for tax-exempt status annually; like any venture, nonpro t leaders must understand the competitive landscape and cre ate reality-based nancial projec tions. If nancial projections show

Many nonpro ts add earned revenue to their business models, given the di culty of predicting grant-writing success and recurring donations. is can provide a con sistent revenue source as well as autonomy from philanthropic part ners and potential “mission drift.”

Applying for tax-exempt status is a separate process from incor porating a nonpro t, and each carries costs. A nonpro t should hire an attorney to le for tax ex emption with the IRS, after incor porating with the secretary of state and registering with the attorney general’s o ce, undertakings that can total thousands of dollars.

that the donations and potential grants may not cover operations, consider a for-pro t entity. e ben e t of incorporating as a nonpro t entity from a nancial perspective is the ability to get the types of funding unavailable to for-pro t entities.

Choosing between for-pro t and nonpro t

IMAGESGETTY DL# 2556130 All floor plans shown are for illustrative purposes only. Floor plans may not depict final design of units as constructed and ay not be drawn to scale. All sketches, enderings, architectural models, materials, plans, specifications, terms, prices, conditions and statements, including estimated timeframes and dates, contained herein are proposed only and are not intended to constitute representations. Developer reser ves the right to make modifications in its sole discretion and without prior notice. All photographs and enderings are merely intended as illustrations of the activities and concepts depicted therein as interpreted by the artists. Developer makes no representations regarding any view and/or exposure to light at any time including any existing or future construction by either owner or a third party. Square footage and ceiling heights are approximate and may be based on various measurement methodologies, subject to construction variances and tolerances, as ell as edesign, nd vary from unit to unit (and may vary from floor to floor). This brochure shall not constitute a valid offer in any jurisdiction where prior egistration is equired and not yet fulfilled. Where used, developer shall mean Tribune To W (Chicago) Owner, LLC and its affiliated entities and their respective managers, members, directors, shareholders, partners, agents, affiliates and employees. WH ER E MAGNIFICE NCE BEGINS A few make histo ry Ev en fewer live it. DISCO VER MORE AT TRIBUNET OW ER .C OM OR CALL 312. 967.3700 1-4+ Bedrooms A vailabl e

exempt status to incentivize gifts?

Advice for small businesses and entrepreneurs in partnership with the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

founders launch under the as sumption that donors and funders will 1) care about the problem the nonpro t seeks to solve, and 2) support the methodology by which the nonpro t seeks to solve it.

director of the Polsky Exchange, which provides space and business programming for local entrepreneurs. She is also a practicing attorney who founded and runs a boutique law rm that provides legal counsel to entrepreneurs. ( is column is not intended as legal advice.)

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • S E PT EM BER 19, 2022 9

One of my greatest personal frustrations is watching nonpro ts launch and o er services to those with needs without planning for their own sustainability. is often leads to the closing of the entity, and the service population once again gets disconnected from neededSocialservices.entrepreneurs should understand the administrative and nancial complications of running a nonpro t and seeking tax exemption before deciding on the best path forward.

How many donors, and at what level, are needed to cover basic operational costs?

Kempczinski shared similar insights, but placed particular emphasis on the crime situation in Chicago. As he put it, what hap pens in the wider world, good or bad, has a way of also happening at McDonald’s—and indeed, his company’s stores have been at the center of some truly horri c scenes of vi olence around the city in recent years, most notably the mass shooting in May outside the McDonald’s near Chicago Avenue and State

Reversing that perception will require a better e ort on the part of our elected lead ers to x what’s broken in Chicago.

American higher education as we know it is facing a reckoning. And frankly, it’s longFromoverdue.1870to 2010, higher edu cation in the United States expe rienced almost constant growth of traditional undergraduate students. In the 2010s, demand attened for the rst time in 140 years.at kind of growth streak is un heard of in every other industry, which explains why higher educa tion as a business must now play catch up. For over a century, we operated American universities with the mindset of “If we build it, they will come.” We built it, and they came in droves from all over the world. e problem is that American universities were built from the inside out, based on what administrators and faculty think is needed. Market research and sensitivity to what stu dents want and need got little attention.

To ensure students are on the right life path, we are integrating “life design” meth odology as a foundational experience for each of our students. We are also transform

For one thing, Kempczinski was brac ingly forthright on the matter of corporate recruitment. In frank terms, he openly told the Economic Club that he’s elded calls from other cities and states trying to woo him and his headquarters away from the Windy City. He’s listened to those pitches and considered them, as any CEO with a duty to both shareholders and employees should. So far, he has been unmoved by the o ers—though the challenges his busi ness is experiencing here in Chicago have certainly given him pause.

Street that killed two people and left seven others wounded. And in 2021, a 7-year-old girl was shot in a West Side drive-thru.

IMAGESAP

A needed call to action on crime

Universities are failing many of today’s students by assuming our “one size ts all’ traditional education model is appropriate for all students. Our job is to stop making as sumptions about their needs and interests, and instead, we must actively guide students on their personalized educational journeys.

is also requires us to graduate our stu dents at a higher rate. While our current six-year graduation rate is higher than the national average of 64%, we need to do bet ter. Our goal is to achieve a 90%-plus gradua tion rate to ensure our students are getting a strong return on investment.

Ultimately, university administrators and faculty are in the business of helping our stu dents achieve their life goals through higher education. We lost sight of that because of favorable market conditions, but it is not too late to build student-centric universities. e future of American education depends on it.

While that might comfort a region still smarting over the exodus of Boeing, Cita del and Caterpillar’s headquarters, Kemp czinski’s remarks in their totality also con tained subtle and not-so-subtle details that should be keeping civic leaders awake at night—and also served as a call to action for a business community eager to rally around a strategy, any strategy, that would reverse the reputational damage Chicago has su ered in recent years.

ing the advising process by decoupling it from a speci c major so students don’t feel trapped if they want to change academic directions. Ultimately, our goal is to ensure ROI for our students by getting them on the right lift path for both short-term career suc cess and long-term happiness.

want to o er to the marketplace and develop a strategy around that.

To make matters worse, higher education now has an estimated 25% excess capacity, according to research by Ernst & Young and the Lumina Foundation. We also expect a

Once we had the data, we held focus groups on campus to see how the research resonated with our current students. Finally, we created our streamlined strategic plan that is directional in nature and focused ex plicitly on the needs and interests of today’s students. With these new directives, we are making signi cant changes on campus. Some of them are highly visible, like our O ce of Inclusive Excellence placement in the heart of academic activities on campus. Our new vice president of DEI now reports directly to me.

But Brown also pointed to the welcoming

We took a distinctly di erent approach and sought data to guide our decisions. We hired Questor, a consumer research rm, to interview 1,600 prospective students; they included people who considered Bradley, a handful who enrolled at Bradley and even people who never considered us. at broad spectrum of students was key to understand ing the market’s needs.

To create this paradigm shift, we’ve got to turn many things upside down. To start, that means critically looking at what’s happening on our campuses.

At Bradley University, where I joined as president in 2020, we engaged in a distinct ly di erent strategic planning process. For most universities, strategic planning takes place in an internal vacuum. You discuss what you think you’re good at, what you

10 SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

Stephen Standi rd is president of Bradley University in Peoria.

For one thing, there’s the business cli mate here. On this point, Kempczinski’s observations resonated with those shared almost simultaneously by Lettuce Entertain

You CEO Kevin Brown, who on Sept. 14 spoke across town before Crain’s Best Plac es to Work luncheon. In an on-stage chat with Crain’s Publisher Jim Kirk, Brown de scribed the reasons why the Chicago-based restaurant operator is expanding in states like Texas, Arizona, Nevada and Florida. Sure, the weather in those places is a factor, particularly for a CEO who may enjoy an excuse to do on-site visits in such climes in, say, January and February. And yes, Chica go isn’t ripe for as much growth at Lettuce anymore, already being home to literally scores of the company’s restaurants.

Chris Kempczinski

In the years ahead, some uni versities will have to close for good. Despite these challenges, I re main optimistic about the future of American higher education. is is a historic opportunity for university administrators and faculty to think about what we do and why. e future of American higher education belongs to uni versities and colleges prioritizing students’ needs and interests. We must re think how we build the modern university and place students at the center.

10% to 15% decline in demand for higher education by 2027, partly due to the pandemic and a lower birth rate in the Great Recession.

reception his company has received in these Sun Belt destinations. In short, getting a new restaurant o the ground in, say, Miami Beach is an easier and more pleasant experi ence than it is here. at matters.

“Let us know the plan so we can support it,” Kempczinski said. “It’s going to take partnership.”

Kempczinski was blunt: Chicago’s rep utation for crime has made it harder to recruit talent to McDonald’s West Loop headquarters than it was just a few years ago. It’s made it harder to get workers to come back to the o ce. And as he trav els around the world on business, people regularly ask him, in concerned tones: “What’s happening in Chicago?”

American universities are at a critical moment

And that’s where potential solutions come into play. Calling for a show of hands, Kempczinski asked his audience of CEOs, executives and civic leaders how many of them are aware of the city’s plan to improve public safety. For the record, few hands went up. And that’s a problem. Business leaders all around Chicago stand ready to collab orate with City Hall to improve everything from street-level safety to infrastructure to economic development to selling out-oftown CEOs on the bene ts of coming to Chi cago. But the Lightfoot administration must set the agenda and articulate a strategy.

Whether Chicago actually deserves its reputation for crime or not, based on the statistics, is almost irrelevant. “In our busi ness, other people’s perception becomes our reality,” Kempczinski pointed out. “We have to act like it’s the reality, whether we believe it or not.”

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YOUR VIEW

cDonald’s is committed to Chicago.atwas the reassuring takeaway from CEO Chris Kempczinski’s Sept. 14 re marks before the Economic Club of Chica go. e fast-food giant—the most globally prominent name in the Chicago business landscape, a company founded and nur tured in the area—sees staying here as a smart long-term strategic decision.

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Yes, it’s gorgeous. — Patrick Pinkerton

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CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • S E PT EM BER 19, 2022 11

And the drug trade is fueled by the insa tiable demand from the suburbs, Loop and North Side where the money is. I think it is critical we talk honestly about the supply and demand dynamics in our city. — Paul S.

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‘We can’t ignore the crime issues anymore’

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is week, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kemp czinski spoke out about Chicago’s business climate and crime in the city. “ ere’s a gen eral sense out there that our city is in crisis,” he told the audience at an Economic Club of Chicago event. “It’s more di cult for me to recruit a new employee to McDonald’s to join us in Chicago than it was in the past.” Crain’s readers weighed in on LinkedIn.

Elections have consequences and you reap what you sow, Chicago. Liberal pol icies around policing, gun control, pros ecutions, fostering dependence on gov ernment handouts and sentencing are all contributors. Get hard on crime, prosecute everyone who breaks the law, let law-abid ing citizens legally carry and stop giving away handouts. ings will eventually be gin to clean up. — Scott Kimpland

President/CEO KC Crain Group publisher/executive editor Jim Kirk

Been downtown lately? — Brian J. Berg

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CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

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Chicago is one of the most vibrant cities in the entire world, but we can’t ignore the crime issues anymore. — Rafael Murillo

Robert Recchia Chief nancial o cer

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Not a hard x, folks. ere is a direct cor relation between crime and lack of edu cation. You need to invest in low-income neighborhoods in before- and after-school programs and provide those kids with a vi able pathway to college. Harris Rosen did it in Orlando. So can Chicago. — Jarrad Holst

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I nd it very interesting that not even 24 hours after GOP (governor) candidate Dar ren Bailey calls Chicago a hellhole, Chris Kempczinski is now saying, “our city is in crisis.” — Mark Karkoska

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crime compared to Chicago. It’s ranked 31st in violence and crime. at makes Chica go per capita one of the safest major cities in America and most of that violence and crime is happening on the Far South Side of Chicago. It’s gangs and drug dealers killing each other. — Zrenaido Roman II

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Every major city in America has more

Thank you, Chris, for speaking up! My car window was smashed three weeks ago and my purse was stolen, my neighbor’s car was broken into two weeks ago, anoth er neighbor’s son was held up at gunpoint a month ago and my girlfriend’s daughter and her boyfriend were carjacked last De cember near the East Bank Club. The vio lence and crime has to stop, as I love our

Assistant managing editor/digital Ann R. Weiler

Vice President at CBRE, he also has held senior roles at Newmark, The John Buck Company and Tishman Speyer in his 20-year career. He earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from University of Illinois and his MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and is active in several civic and industry organizations.

Taft Law, Chicago

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Hilco Global announces Ward Mooney, a highly regarded deal originator, lender, and thought leader in the nancial services sector, has joined the Hilco Global executive leadership team. In this new role as Executive Vice President and Senior Advisor, Mr. Mooney will work closely with the Hilco Global senior management team at the holding company while collaborating with the rm’s operating companies as they continue to grow and expand its diversi ed suite of nancial services solutions.

WEALTH MANAGEMENT

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American Global LLC, one of the largest privately inconstructionheldbrokerstheUnitedStates, is pleased to announce the opening of its operations in Chicago with the appointment of Nick Bokios as President of American Global of Illinois. Nick has distinguished himself in the Midwest as a results-oriented and collaborative professional who brings solutions to his clients and teammates. Prior to joining the American Global team, Nick held the position of Vice President, Sr Contract Underwriting Of cer overseeing the Midwest region for Liberty Mutual Surety.

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Thermosystems LLC, a commercial heating, ventilation and airconditioning Indiana,Chicago,representativemanufacturers’(HVAC)servingnorthwestandcentraland

Boone brings over 30 years of commercial real estate experience to the rm and will specialize in tenant representation for of ce, industrial, and retail clients. Before joining Savills, Ivan managed his own rm Frontier Commercial for 22 years.

INSURANCE BROKERAGE

Ronak Sheth has been promoted to Chief Executive Of cer at Pricefx. Sheth was previously President and Chief Revenue Of cer and held that position since May 2021. With more than two decades of experience in executive leadership and board management roles at early-stage and high-growth technology companies, Sheth has been responsible for more than a year of outstanding growth.

BMO ManagementWealth welcomes Marc Barbeau as Director, Private Wealth Advisor in Chicago. Marc serves as a lead advisor and relationship manager to high-net-worth individuals, families and organizations, including closelyheld and family owned businesses. He works closely with clients to gain a complete understanding of their lifestyle, career, philanthropic and wealth planning goals. Marc joined the organization in 2022 and has over 28 years of experience in the nancial services industry.

Aqua, an Essential Utilities welcomescompany, David Carter as President of Aqua Illinois. With more than 30 years of operational leadership experience, including 15 in the water and wastewater industry, Carter will lead the Illinois team as they continue to provide high-quality, reliable water and wastewater services to 273,000 customers. With a focus on operational excellence, he will continue Aqua Illinois’ tradition as an infrastructure leader and community partner.

American Global, Chicago

ORBA, Chicago

Advertising Section

ORBA welcomes Dan Cameron, CPA, MSA to the rm’s Tax Group as a Transaction Advisory Analyst. Dan has more than 17 years of experience in public accounting, working with corporations, individuals and partnerships in several industries, including manufacturing, e-commerce and technology. He is skilled in handling a wide range of mergers and acquisition matters for closely-held, middle-market and private equity clients, including planning to minimize taxes and leading tax due diligence engagements.

NON-PROFITS

Loyola Medicine has announced the appointment of Shana Jo Crews as the new regional vice president of advocacy and government relations.

HEALTH CARE

/ dstein@crain.com

place your listing, visit www.chicagobusiness.com/peoplemoves or, for more information,

Entre Commercial Realty, Chicago

Chocron Morrell

LAW

Nunnink

Milhouse Engineering and Construction, Inc., Chicago

southern

Prior to joining Loyola Medicine, Shana worked as the government relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network in Illinois and Iowa. Shana is a graduate of the civic leadership program from the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign with a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science.

LAW

Savills, Chicago

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Illinois, announced it has appointed Mike Murray as President. Murray has been with the rm for more than 10 years as a leading sales engineer. Murray earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Purdue University, and an MBA in corporate nance and real estate from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Taft Law, Chicago

Savills has added Ivan Boone as Senior Managing Director to the Chicago of ce.

ACCOUNTING

UTILITIES

Taft welcomes associate attorneys Yeoeun Claire Yoon and Michael Mayerck to the rm’s Chicago litigation practice. They represent a broad range of clients in general business litigation and complex commercial disputes. Both received their JDs from the University of Illinois College of Law. Yeoeun was a legal extern for the Honorable Mary L. Mikva, Illinois Appellate Court First District.

Nunnink America’sadviseslargest corporations. He specializes in information systems, business and partial interest valuations, and manufactured housing valuation. Previously, the pair co-founded JLL’s Valuation & Advisory national practice after holding leadership roles at Integra Realty Resources, prior to which Nunnink was a LaSalle Bank CMBS lender.

MB Real Estate, Chicago

Michael was a Judicial Extern for the Honorable Amy J. St. Eve, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Open Communities, Evanston

ENGINEERING / CONSTRUCTION

Pricefx, Chicago

Mayerck

REAL ESTATE

Lendlease, Chicago Jonathon Cordell joins Chicago.newthewhereDevelopmentChicagoLendlease’sofceasDirectorhewilloverseerm’songoinganddevelopmentsinPreviouslyExecutive

Denise Chaimovitz, SIOR, MA has joined the rm. An industrial real estate broker since 2004, she was formerly with PW Real Estate and focuses on clients in Cook and Lake Counties. She has represented over 300 landlords, tenants and investors in transactions totaling more than 7MM SF and $300MM. Denise is a member of AIRE and SIOR and graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Business Administration and a M.A. in Organizational Development from Loyola University.

Kenyatta T. Land, Esq. joins Open Communities as Fair Attorney.HousingLandhas over 25 years of real estate and fair housing legal experience. Previously, he was a residential real estate developer with the City of Chicago’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program and helped construct the County’s Just Housing Amendment. Land is a Chicago State University graduate and earned his JD from the University of Illinois-Chicago School of Law. He is a member of the ISBA and Cook County Bar Association.

ENGINEERING

Carly Chocron and Benjamin Morrell have joined Taft as associate attorneys. Carly represents individuals and entities who are being prosecuted in state and federal courts and who are involved with government and investigations.regulatory She also represents clients in a range of civil matters. Ben’s practice is dedicated to litigating labor and employment disputes, counseling clients in their roles as employers, and representing them in state and federal agency proceedings. He also maintains a broad appellate practice, drawing from his experience clerking on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Hilco Global, Northbrook

REAL ESTATE

Freeborn & Peters LLP, Chicago

Freeborn & Peters LLP is pleased to welcome Abosede Odunsi as a partner in its Chicago of ce. Odunsi joins Freeborn’s corporate practice group and trust and estates team, and focuses her practice on estate planning, tax planning, probate administration and guardianship matters for highnet-worth individuals, families, entrepreneurs and business owners. Prior to joining Freeborn, Abosede served as a partner at Hoogendoorn & Talbot LLP.

Samuel joined Milhouse 10 years ago as a founding member of Milhouse’s Gas team. Today, Samuel leads a team of 30+ talented individuals in performing all gas sub-specialties at all stages of the project lifecycle. Samuel has proven himself an outstanding leader with a focus on pro tability, quality and delivering greatness to clients.

To contact Debora Stein at 917.226.5470

To order frames or plaques of profiles contact Lauren Melesio lmelesio@crain.comator 212-210-0707

MAI, CRE, FRICS and Brandon Nunnink, CFA launched a real estate valuation and advisory rm, Partner Valuation Advisors, LLC. The Chicago-based pair established the techforward rm to serve investors, lenders, and occupiers nationally. Enloe consults on all asset types including of ce, retail, multifamily, industrial, malls, selfstorage, manufactured housing, and hotels.

Boone is a passionate supporter of youth team sports and was recognized as “Volunteer of the Year” for Chicago’s largest youth soccer organization, AYSO Region 418.

Samuel Miller, PE has been promoted to Vice President of Gas Engineering at Milhouse Engineering and Construction, Inc.

MB Real Estate is excited to announce that Vice President Becky Gualandri has been appointed director of the Resources.Departmentcompany’sofHumanGualandristarted at MBRE as an of ce coordinator in 2008, worked as a property administrator, and has been with the HR department since 2012. With her comprehensive knowledge of payroll and bene ts, employee relations and engagement, and recruitment and retention, Gualandri has been an in uential force at MBRE.

That’s my story. I can’t wait to tell yours.

Levain’s biggest challenge could come from local bakeries, which Chicagoans tend to sup

WEINBURGMARK

To advocate for fairness, and ferret out inconsistencies and half-truths.

And even prouder to represent your company when it matters most.

Levain Bakery is preparing to open its rst Chicago location this fall, bringing with it the oversized, gooey cookies for which the New York spot has become known.

When it’s your day before a judge, a jury, an arbitration panel, I believe your story has a right to be told. Your company has a right to win.

My job is to tell that story in the most compelling way

EXCLUSIVE SALES

“ e core of our business from day one was the bakery experi ence,” Sommerville said. “If the grocery path doesn’t feel feasi ble, how do we make sure we are thoughtfully nding locations that feel right?”

I’ll make sure it gets heard

Yours is a compelling story

e bakery is set to open in No vember at 840 W. Randolph St., taking over the space previously occupied by Maude’s Liquor Bar.

. > Chair, Trial Practice Group > 312.212.4955 | nsecco@beneschlaw.com

To break down complex subjects, multilayered situations, and convoluted legal matters into clear, relatable realities.

“It’s not only just the taste of the cookies, it’s just the whole experi ence,” he said. “ at is what you need to do if you’re trying to com pete at that price point.”

e West Loop spot is coming just in time for locals who may have already developed an a nity for the store-bought version of the brand’s signature cookies. Levain is winding down its grocery store sales, as supply chain issues and in ation have driven up the costs of the frozen, 2-ounce version of the cookies too far, Sommerville said. When the Chicago location opens in November, it’ll be the only spot in the city selling Levain cookies.“It’sreally kind of a little heart breaking, because the demand was there,” she said. “As we’ve watched costs increase, it got to the point where we weren’t com fortable with the price point.”

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • S E PT EM BER 19, 2022 13

MY BENESCH MY TEAM

The new shop in the West Loop will be the only place in the city to buy the 6-ounce, gooey cookies for which the New York bakery is known

I’m proud to lead it.

Revealing a path that leads to success.

e West Loop bakery will be the 11th location for Levain, which opened its rst store in New York in 1995. Chicago will be Levain’s fth city outside of New York. e brand is expanding slowly and strategically, said CEO Andy Tay lor.“It’s not about putting dots on the map and ipping the business to make a return; it’s about build ing a sustainable business,” he said. “I’ve said no to more retail lo cations—far more—than I’ve said yes to, including in Chicago.”

Our Benesch team has deep experience, a winning record, and the strength to go head to head with any ﬁrm, anywhere.

at said, it would have been “kind of inept” if Chicago wasn’t high on the list of spots to expand, Taylor said. It’s a food-centric city full of people willing to try new things. e West Loop is “thriv ing,” with a good mix of business es, residents and visitors that will make it a good home for Levain, he said.ebakery’s $5 6-ounce cook ies are its top seller, and those can draw lines that stretch down the block. But Levain’s Chicago shop will also sell whole loaves of bread, mu ns, baguettes with butter and jam, co ee and other bakery items. e kitchen will be exposed so customers can see the bakers in action, said Levain Chief Market ing O cer Lorna Sommerville.

port heavily, said Mike Mazzeo, a professor of strategy at Northwest ern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Maintaining high quality also can be di cult as brands expand. Doing so will be key to Levain’s success in Chica go, he said.

www.beneschlaw.com

I’m NICHOLAS SECCO I’m on your team.

e take-and-bake cookies were for sale in Chicago at upscale con venience store Foxtrot and Whole Foods, which will both cease sales in the coming months, Sommer ville said. Levain launched its fro zen cookies in 2020, as an alterna tive to those who didn’t live near one of the bakeries or didn’t want to pay shipping costs for the freshbakedLevain’s6-ouncers.expansion will help it reach customers that can no lon ger get their x via grocery stores. Besides Chicago, it plans to open a

location in Los Angeles soon.

BUILDING LOYALTY

BY ALLY MAROTTI

Levain Bakery opening Chicago location in November

President, director Joyce Foundation

$696,072 $476,526 $291 $103,008 $105,347 $10,900

$769,453 $699,929 $0 $574,127 $27,613 $22,897

Former president, CEO YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago

WELZD.KAUFFMAN 7

$817,555 $752,306 $65,249

DAVIDC.CARROLL 3

$711,367 $639,056 $72,311

$793,640 $739,355 $0 $0 $34,200 $20,085

AccessCEO Community Health Network

Former president, CEO Gateway Foundation Inc. $630,168 $502,028 $83,042 $582 $8,444 $36,072

JOHNG.PALFREY

$1,170,147 $524,442 $0 $618,205 $27,500 $0

$969,325 $648,182 $267,891 $3,438 $17,100 $32,714

Former commissioner Big Ten Conference Inc.

KEVINWARREN 2

$999,051 $920,272 $1,920 $76,859

BigCommissionerTenConference Inc.

JACQUELINEHALLBERG

Former president, CEO Field Museum of Natural History

Former president, CEO The Chicago Community Trust

Goodwill Industries of Metropolitan Chicago

Former director, president Institute for the International Education of Students

$657,619 $463,256 $133,762 $0 $36,600 $24,001

$684,423 $462,924 $163,619 $4,518 $30,900 $22,462

RICHARDLARIVIERE 6

MARYM.DWYER 9

CLAIREBABINEAUX-FONTENOT

$633,266 $614,089 $0 $0 $6,731 $12,446

23 JOHNHEWKO

ANTHONYP.FREUDOBE

General director, president, CEO Lyric Opera of Chicago $611,925 $465,306 $0 $88,714 $37,373 $20,532 HAROLDWIMMER

President, CEO Shedd Aquarium Society

ELLENS.ALBERDING

President, CEO

Former president, CEO Gas Technology Institute (GTI)

THOMASP.BRITTON 13

$904,970 $633,791 $0 $173,676 $87,000 $10,503

DONNATHOMPSON

President, InternationalCEOFellowship of Christians & Jews

President, CEO American Lung Association

Former president, CEO YMCA of the USA

ArtPresidentInstitute of Chicago

BRIDGETC.COUGHLIN

COMPENSATIONRETIREMENT/DEFERRED

HIGHEST-PAID NONPROFIT

Want 32 nonpro t leaders' total compensation in Excel format? Become a Data Member: ChicagoBusiness.com/Data-Lists

$728,982 10 $495,995 $181,927 $11,717 $22,050 $17,293

$715,269 $572,527 $0 $0 $39,500 $103,242

$4,712,494 $1,629,885 $2,965,369 $83,956 $2,826,620 $13,334

Pritzker director, CEO Museum of Contemporary Art

JAMESRONDEAU

YAELECKSTEIN

$3,474,762 $2,899,784 $0 $2,322 $550,000 $22,656

$857,176 $573,565 $250,000 $0 $14,201 $19,410

$45,000 $0

President, director John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

RotaryCEO Foundation of Rotary $630,024 14 $569,655 $0 $0 $35,975 $24,394

NA'ILAHSUADNASIR

CRAIN'S LIST Ranked by 2020 total ResearchbySophieRodgers(sophie.rodgers@crain.com)compensation |Thisdirectoryisnotcomprehensive.Datawasobtainedfrom990taxformsforthe

MADELEINEGRYNSZTEJN

President, director Spencer Foundation

J.KEVINCMUNT 11

International

JAMESE.DELANY

HARRYJOHNS

$644,723 $538,856 $51,000 $11,406 $28,667 $14,794

Former president, CEO Ravinia Festival

$1,622,400 $571,150 $965,825 $18,294 $43,989 $23,142

$1,020,006 5 $413,242 $394,000 $1,518 $184,459 $26,787

KEVINWASHINGTON 8

RICHARDH.MALONE 4

NONTAXABLE BENEFITS

14 SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS TOP EXECUTIVE 2020 TOTAL COMPENSATION 1 BASE COMPENSATION BONUS AND INCENTIVE OTHER COMPENSATIONREPORTABLE

President, Alzheimer'sCEOAssociation

$934,796 $426,391 $96,793 $604,812 $11,400 $7,800

Former president, CEO Gift of Hope Organ and Tissue Donor Network

$579,381 $470,372 $36,251 $27,758 LEADERS scalyearbeginningin2020,whichformostorganizationsisthemostrecentyearavailable. Crain'sincludesnonpro haveleftlistedpositionsintheinterimbetweenthetswithheadquartersintheChicago-areacountiesofCook,DuPage,Kane,Lake(Ill.),Lake(Ind.),McHenryandWill,and/oraprimarymissionthatisChicago-based.Universitiesandhospitalswereomitted.Someexecutivesmaylingoftheirmostrecent990andpresstime.NOTES: 1. ExcludescompensationreportedasdeferredonpriorForm990. 2. WarrenbecamecommissionerinJanuary2020. 3. CarrollretiredfromGTIin August2022.PaulaGantservesascurrentpresidentandCEO. 4. MaloneretiredfromYMCAMetroChicagoinNovember2020.DorriMcWhorterservesascurrentpresidentandCEO. 5. Includes$3,144fromrelatedorganizations. 6. Lariviereretiredfrom theFieldMuseuminJuly2020.JulianSiggersservesascurrentpresidentandCEO. 7. Kau manretiredfromRaviniaFestivalinSeptember2020.Je reyP.HaydonservesaspresidentandCEO. 8. Washingtonretiredfrom YMCAoftheUSAin2021.Suzanne McCormickservesascurrentpresidentandCEO. 9. DwyerretiredfromIESAbroadinJuly2020.GregoryD.HessservesascurrentpresidentandCEO. 10. Entiretyofcompensationcomesfromrelatedorganizations. 11. CmuntretiredfromGiftofHope OrganandTissueDonorNetworkinOctober2020.HarryWilkinsservesascurrentpresidentandCEO. 12. GayleretiredfromCCTinJune2022.AndreaSáenzservesascurrentinterimpresidentandCEO. 13. BrittonretiredfromGatewayFoundationin February 2022. Marc Turner serves as current interim president and CEO. 14. Includes $390,749 from related organizations.

HELENED.GAYLE 12

FeedingCEO America

$302,052 $278,206 $0 $0 $5,700 $18,146

AccessCFO Community Health Network

ANDREASONBROWN CFO, SpencertreasurerFoundation

Science

RICHARDHOVLAND

JULIESUDERMAN

JohnCFO D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

CFO, interim CEO Field Museum of Natural History

Society

Lung Association

JEFFREYDOCALAVIC

$434,516 $339,484 $69,610 $3,943 $17,100 $4,379

BigTreasurerTenConference $7,512 $27,784 $32,948 $15,606 NONPROFIT FINANCE LEADERS

CRAIN'S LIST Ranked by 2020 total SophieRodgers(sophie.rodgers@crain.com)compensation|Thisdirectoryisnotcomprehensive.Datawasobtainedfrom990taxformsforthe scalyearbeginningin2020,whichformostorganizationsisthemostrecentyearavailable.Crain'sincludes nonpro positionsintheinterimbetweenthetswithheadquartersintheChicago-areacountiesofCook,DuPage,Kane,Lake(Ill.),Lake(Ind.),McHenryandWill,and/oraprimarymissionthatisChicago-based.Universitiesandhospitalswereomitted.Someexecutivesmayhaveleftlistedlingoftheirmostrecent990andpresstime.NOTES: 1. ExcludescompensationreportedasdeferredonpriorForm990. 2. Includes$902fromrelatedorganizations. 3. Entiretyofcompensationcomesfromrelated organizations. 4. Includes $170,991 from related organizations. 5. Fealy retired from the Museum of Science and Industry in 2022. Jon Assell serves as current CFO. 6. Suderman retired from the Big Ten in 2022. Laura Anderson serves as current CFO. Want 27 nonpro t heads of nances' total compensation in Excel format? Become a Data Member: ChicagoBusiness.com/Data-Lists

Vice president of nance, CFO Institute for the International Education of Students

DANIELJ.MCGREW

NANCYL.OWENS

$302,257 $257,232 $0 $3,289 $7,806 $33,930

$275,184 $247,248 $0 $0 $26,159 $1,777

Chief nancial and administrative o cer, assistant treasurer Lyric Opera of Chicago

WILLIAMMARTENS

AmericanCFO

Gift of Hope Organ and Tissue Donor Network

PAULHENRYS FeedingTreasurerAmerica

$7,743 HIGHEST-PAID

Executive vice president of nance and ArtadministrationInstituteof Chicago

Chief operating o cer, assistant treasurer Alzheimer's Association

$455,283 $403,707 $0 $7,826 $24,953 $18,797

$304,851 $226,330 $65,000 $7,560 $0 $5,961

$289,253 $256,349 $0 $0 $9,034 $23,870

PINKYRAINA COO, UnitedCFOStates Soccer Federation Inc.

TOMASDEL RIO GatewayCFO Foundation Inc.

RotaryCFO Foundation of Rotary International

MAHOMEDOUEDRAOGO

Executive vice president, CFO YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago

$535,418 $450,195 $8,364 $76,859

Assistant treasurer Goodwill Industries of Metropolitan Chicago

KENNETHM.JONESII

Vice president of nance and administration Joyce Foundation

LAURASCOTT

JULIEBURKE

$369,693 $263,072 $39,795 $3,434 $30,447 $32,945

Inc. $261,226 $206,219 $0 $360 $28,000 $26,647 24 LAURELSIMKOVICH Vice president of nance International Fellowship of Christians & Jews $242,853 $174,159 $450

$710,916 $302,442 $328,600 $3,612 $41,280 $34,982

LEMONTEBOOKER

$348,147 3 $303,508 $25,515 $804 $0 $18,320

CATHERINEB.KEARNEY

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • S E PT EM BER 19, 2022 15 FINANCE LEADER 2020 COMPENSATION 1 BASE COMPENSATION BONUS AND INCENTIVE OTHER COMPENSATIONREPORTABLE COMPENSATIONRETIREMENT/DEFERRED NONTAXABLE BENEFITS

ROBERTALANE

$346,750 4 $279,755 $0 $0 $35,975 $31,020

SheddCFO Aquarium

$353,959 $325,138 $0 $0 $3,231 $25,590

$335,207 $269,275 $65,932

ROSSG.RASPOPOVICH COO, CFO

$298,890 $279,430 $0 $438 $3,286 $15,736

Vice president of nance and administration, MuseumCFO of &

$435,100 $296,217 $0 $101,316 $17,873 $19,694

25 PEGGYPAPAIOANNOU Director of nance Ravinia Festival $208,514 $185,165 $0 $0

$408,272 $358,406 $0 $0 $34,200 $15,666

$358,855 $304,590 $25,000 $0 $17,563 $11,702

$296,070 $259,705 $20,000 $0 $15,566 $799

21 ROSEB.FEALY 5

Senior vice president of nance, treasurer, CFO Gas Technology Institute (GTI)

ALEXANDRAHOLT

Senior vice president, CFO YMCA of the USA

$693,396 2 $456,534 $141,120 $3,652 $62,228 $29,862

JESSICASTRAUSBAUGH

20 GARYGORDON

Industry

$322,096 $259,795 $34,941 $2,559 $8,043 $16,758

TheCFOChicago Community Trust

$329,878 $272,655 $57,223

JAMESF.INGOLD

Yet, oddly, over the nearly 250-year history of consti tutional protections in our country, our rights on the job are not explicitly mentioned.

power to determine or arbitrarily change our workplace rights, instead of guaran teeing those rights in the same way we would our right to worship, speak or as semble as we choose.

In November, Illinois voters will have the opportunity to make a different choice by voting yes on Amendment 1, also known as the Workers’ Rights Amendment. A yes vote will guarantee workers’ rights and prevent the passage of any state law or local ordinance “that interferes with, negates or di minishes the right of employ ees to organize and bargain collectively.”Thefounders of our repub lic recognized that some rights need to be above politics. They enacted constitutional checks on the structural power im balances between government and individuals as a bulwark for

This has not been a good trend for workers or our economy. Research has shown that states where politicians have weakened unions and collective bargain ing suffer from slower economic growth and lower levels of workforce produc tivity. Indeed, recent research from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the Project for Middle Class Renewal at

workers or pay general operating expen ditures. Amendment 1 wouldn’t just cut into Illinois businesses’ bottom lines: It could hinder operations as well.

Why workers’ rights should be added to the Illinois Constitution

In other words, inferior economic out comes result from giving politicians the

the federal government already regulates private-sector union workers. is could entangle private business owners in cost ly and time-consuming litigation, as the employers may need to go to court to de termine which laws and protections apply to their businesses and unions.

YOUR VIEW

Amy Korte is execu tive vice president of the Illinois Policy Institute, a principles.andsmallertankcago-basedChi-thinkthatpromotesgovernmentfree-market

Similarly, every worker faces a natural power dispar ity with their employers. This imbalance can—and often does—leave workers vulner able on a range of economic and safety issues. Time and again, the research has told us that the greatest bulwark against such vulnerability is when workers are able to join together in unions, to collectively bargain with employers over things like wages and working condi tions.Yet no constitution in America, state or federal, currently protects or guaran tees this Instead,right.ever

Marc R. Poulos is executive director of the Indiana, Illinois & Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting, a labor organization.management

Illinois’ job creators have enough con cerns without becoming the funders and test subjects for a rst-of-its-kind union power grab. Amendment 1’s uncertain costs would only add to business owners’ worries while operating in the Prairie State. e best way for them to save themselves money, time and a giant headache is to vote no on Amendment 1 in November.

16 SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

taxes on business owners as they strug gled through the COVID-19 pandemic and continued to face costly regulations that make Illinois the third-most regu lated state in the nation. Illinois is still missing 88,600 jobs from the pandemic, is one of four states with the third-highest unemployment rate and has one of the worst pandemic recoveries in the nation, adding to business owners’ continued hardships and compounding the threat of a nationwide re cession.Now, Illinois politicians and government unions want to place even more costs on the state’s employers to endow gov ernment unions with powers so far beyond basic union rights that no other union in the na tion enjoys such privileges.

perpetual right to call strikes to ensure their expanded de mands are Businessmet.owners and other taxpayers would be forced to fund the government unions’ broad new demands and their associated costs, likely through increased property taxes. e amendment puts the average Illinois family on course to pay at least $2,149 more in property taxes over the next four years, but the amount would almost certainly increase in the fu ture, given the unpredictable expense of unions’ potential demands. How much more Il linois business owners would pay remains an open question, given the amendment’s broad language and the fact no constitutional amendment like Amendment 1 has ever been passed in the U.S. to o er a model for gauging business costs.

Business owners and other taxpayers will pay a high price if Amendment 1 to the Illinois Constitution is approved, writes a leader of the Illinois Policy Institute.

Over the past 60 years, this has led to a historic low in the share of American

Importantly, it will finally guarantee rights that have long proven to deliver higher job quality, better safety out comes and a stronger overall economy.

Amendment 1 is a potential change to the Illinois Consti tution up for a vote Nov. 8. Pro ponents disingenuously refer to Amendment 1 as a “Work ers’ Rights Amendment,” yet no Illinois worker would lose their rights if the amendment fails. Business owners would face hefty costs if it passes, though.Amendment 1 promises to raise the cost of government by giving government unions expanded collective bargaining powers that go beyond typical negotiations over wages and compensa tion. For example, Amendment 1 could permit government unions to make so cial and political demands, such as school district support for rent control, a bene t they cannot currently negotiate. In addi tion, Amendment 1 grants a “fundamen tal right” to collective bargaining, which would give most government unions the

In other words, while many spend most of our lives away from our families at work, we enjoy no guaranteed workplace rights under our federal or state constitutions.

usiness owners will pay a high price if they vote for a proposed law at the top of the ballot on Election Day.

workers represented by labor unions, even as unions enjoy historic highs in public opinion polling.

the University of Illinois Urbana-Cham paign revealed that workers in these states earned lower wages; faced higher rates of poverty and income inequality; and were less likely to have health insur ance, more likely to rely on government welfare programs and significantly more likely to be injured or killed on the job.

But should they be?

MORE TAX DOLLARS FOR GOVERNMENT UNIONS AND POTENTIAL LEGAL COSTS FOR PRIVATE BUSINESSES TRANSLATE INTO LESS MONEY TO HIRE WORKERS OR PAY GENERAL OPERATING EXPENDITURES.

The founders of our republic recognized that some rights need to be above politics, writes the chief of a labor management organization.

Instead, we rely on a statutory frame work that’s subject to the whims of pol itics and politicians. Safety on the job, minimum pay, equal pay or protection against sexual, racial and gender dis crimination are each the product of such statutes. So, too, have been laws that weaken or undo labor standards. Indeed, workplace rights have been a matter of generational, geographic or political volatility.

More tax dollars for government unions and potential legal costs for private busi nesses translate into less money to hire

Our constitution recog nized a structural power dis parity between individuals and governments. The Bill of Rights exists as a permanent check on that imbalance.

since Congress first passed national legislation allowing workers to form unions and bargain col lectively, we’ve seen a steady and suc cessful effort to erode these same rights in the courts and in dozens of states.

RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT STATES WHERE POLITICIANS HAVE WEAKENED UNIONS AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING SUFFER FROM LOWER ECONOMIC GROWTH AND LOWER LEVELS OF WORKFORCE PRODUCTIVITY.

Uncertainty is a business person’s ene my, and here, too, the amendment pres ents a threat. e language is so broad that it attempts to regulate union bar gaining powers in the private sector, but

mong the greatest features of the Amer ican system of gov ernment is the fact that our constitution recogniz es and protects a set of funda mental individual rights. ese include things like the right to worship or speak how we wish, the right to bear arms, protec tions against illegal search and seizure, and more.

Theliberty.Workers’ Rights Amendment to the Illinois Constitution offers a similar check on the structural power imbalance that has long existed at the workplaces where we spend so much of our lives.

Job creators can’t a ord this proposed law

is is the last thing business own ers need as they try to operate in a state that already places high costs and tight restrictions on them. Gov. J.B. Pritzker imposed more than $650 million in new

theBCGcombined scoresofthetwosurveys,withthe employeeresponsesmakingup75% ofthetotal,andconductedin-depth analysistodeterminethenumberof companiesthatmetitsstandardof excellence.Tofindthetopcompanies ineachsizecategory,BCGseparated firmsintosmall(25to99U.S.employees),medium(100to249)andlarge (250ormore).

WAS COMPILED CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 17 2022

Butitgoesbeyondsimpleflexibility:Companiesaretrulyattemptingtofigureouthowtheir employeescanhaveitall—and staysanewhiledoingit.

By Danielle Braff

HOW THIS LIST

Manyoftheofficeshavedevotedspacesforstressreliefandrelaxationforemployeeswhododecide toworkinoffice.

Onceagainthisyear,Crain’spartneredwithBestCompaniesGroup tosurveyemployeesandidentify the100BestPlacestoWork.Here theyareinrankedorder,alongwith somedetailsaboutwhatmakes themgreat.

Hybridworkspacesarethenorm, withtheoverwhelmingmajority ofcompaniesofferingemployees theoptiontoworkwhereverthey want,whenevertheywant.

THE PANDEMIC APPEARS TO HAVE PERMANENTLY ALTERED thewaywework,andthisyear’s topplacestoworkreflectthose changes.

What criteria were used? paniesBestComGroup(BCG),anindependent workplaceexcellenceresearchfirm, conductedatwo-partsurvey.Part oneoftheassessmentconsistedofan employerquestionnaire,usedtocollect informationaboutbenefits,policies, practicesandothergeneralinformation. Parttwowasaconfidential77-question employeesurveyusedtoevaluatelocal employees’workplaceexperienceand culture.BCGcollecteddatafromthe companiesinMarchandApril.

How was it scored?

“Whatworksforusistotreateveryoneasindividuals,andtovalue whateachpersonbringseveryday towork,”saysRandyGreen,executivechairmanofFirstBankChicago,oneofCrain’stopcompanies. “Wesay‘thankyou’andmeanitbecausewetrulyappreciatetheimportantcontributionsofeachand everymemberoftheteam.”

Who was eligible?

Avionos,adigitalconsultancyin theLoopthat’soneofCrain’s2022 topcompanies,offersflex-workfor allemployeestoaccommodate gapsinchildcare,familyillness andotherunforeseencircumstances(nolyingabouttakingtimeoff totakeyourkidstothezoo).Green OfficePartner,atechnologyfirm, allowsstafftobringtheirkidsand petstowork.“Astressreducer,it alsoservesasasafetynetandfinancialsavingsvehicleforchildandpetcareinterruptions,”the companysays.

WorkTheBestPlacesto allinChicagoprogramwasopento publiclyorprivatelyheldorganizations,eitherfor-profitornot-forprofit.Tobeeligibleforconsideration, organizationshadtohaveatleast25 employeesworkingintheseven-countyareaofCook,DuPage,Kane,Lake, McHenryandWillinIllinoisandLakein Indiana.Publishedemployeetotalsare asofApril.

Leahy-IFPhasaloungefilled witharcadegames,snacksand tabletennis;Arco/Murray,anothertopcompany,hasanofficerec spacewithtabletennis,abasketballcourtandbeerontap(happy hourisn’tjust5p.m.anymore).

Clockwise from top left: iManage, Smokeball, Built In and Bluedog Design.

Inadditiontofunandimportant perks,thetopcompaniesalsooffer employeesgenerousprofit-sharing programs,employeestockoptions and401(k)matchingcontributions (allbut10ofthefirmsonourlistofferamatch).

The Accend team and clients enjoyed a day on Lake Michigan shing this summer.

INSTANT ALLIANCE: Driven from the top, all executives have a “roll up your sleeves” attitude and practicewhat-they-preach mentality.

RADIO FLYER: Every individual Flyer’s growth is a priority to leaders, a testament to the longevity of Flyers’ tenure; 40% of Flyers were recognized and promoted last year.

ALLISON PARTNERS: In our highly entrepreneurial environment, our leadership team encourages our employees to pursue their individual passions and empowers everyone to do things differently.

Readthe sponsored spotlighton Page25.

BIGTIME SOFWARE: We recognize employees monthly who have exemplified our core values in the way they work.

2022 18 SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS IN THEIR OWN WORDS WHAT MAKES YOUR FIRM A BEST PLACE TO WORK? Name Field employeesU.S. Percentageoffemaleexecutives Voluntaryturnover ofPercentageemployeesworkingremotelyatleastpartoftheweek ofPercentageemployees’medicalpremiumspaidbyemployer 1 BLUEDOG DESIGN FultonMarketConsulting3367%5%18%100% 2 SPAULDING RIDGE ChicagoConsulting32825%21%25%75%-99% 3 RADIO FLYER GalewoodConsumerproducts8238%10%90%100% 4 INSTANT ALLIANCE LoopStang3975%1%90%Lessthan 25% 5 3Q/DEPT LoopAdvertising/PR49355%31%100%75%-99% 6 WAYFINDER LOGISTICS RiverNorthTransportation530%4%100%75%-99% 7 REDMOND RiverNorthConstruction3234%0%0%75%-99% 8 THE SALEM GROUP Loop,BualoGrove,Naperville, OakbrookTerrace,Aurora,RoselleStang8150%2%50%50%-74% 9 SMOKEBALL LoopTechnology12456%28%100%75%-99% 10 ACCEND CONSTRUCTION WestLoopConstruction280%18%20%75%-99% 11 BDF Itasca,ChicagoFinancialservices7029%1%100%75%-99% 12 MOWERY & SCHOENFELD DowntownAccounting8913%5%55%50%-74% 13 BIGTIME SOFTWARE LoopSoftware9725%47%60%100% 14 ALLISON+PARTNERS StreetervilleAdvertising/PR34646%23%100%75%-99% 15 DMC Bucktown/WickerParkEngineering18511%14%75%75%-99% 16 BASIS TECHNOLOGIES LoopTechnology78533%18%95%75%-99% 17 RYAN COS. U.S. Westmont,FultonMarketRealestateandconstruction1,90517%NANA75%-99% 18 MILWAUKEE TOOL DowntownTechnology10,0007%26%20%75%-99% 19 YCHARTS RiverNorthTechnology9318%17%90%100% 20 LEAHY-IFP NorthsuburbsFoodandbeverage530%5%100%75%-99% 21 THE LACTATION NETWORK WestTownHealthcare3683%0%100%75%-99% 22 NEIGHBORHOOD LOANS DownersGrove,Midway,Bucktown, OldIrvingPark,SchaumburgFinancialservices559NANA50%50%-74% 23 GREEN OFFICE PARTNER RosemontTechnology400%5%75%75%-99% 24 JUNO LOGISTICS ItascaInternationallogistics5150%4%80%100% 25 BUILTECH SERVICES SchaumburgConstruction7222%5%20%50%-74%

ACCEND CONSTRUCTION: One of the only organizations within the construction industry to employ a “peoplefirst” mentality to everything we do.

BASIS TECHNOLOGIES: We’ve shifted many of our perks and benefits to support our hybrid work model. We offer our new employees $500 to set up a home office if needed.

SUPER Flyer Stan was named “Captain FUNomenal” and recognized by the chief wagon o cer (CEO) at an all-company meeting.

WHEN THE STARS ALIGN Recognized by Crain’s as one of the “Best Places to Work” for 5 consecutive years. Join our team today! 2018 • 2019 • 2020 • 2021 • 2022

YCHARTS: Company culture is extremely important to YCharts, whether it’s in the office or remote. Long story short, we’re definitely not your typical 9-5 environment. We try to make it fun for our team to come in every day and work toward our business goals. We believe you should laugh a lot at work, and at the very least, we want our team to think fondly of their work environment. As a team that truly gets along and hangs out together both in and out of the office, we’re proud of the workplace environment we’ve created.

SPAULDING RIDGE: Our core values: all business is personal; efficient execution; culture forward; and think global.

DMC: Everyone’s favorite part of working at DMC is the super awesome, brilliant and kind people.

REDMOND: Redmond is a company where young leaders, women and people of color thrive; where leadership is involved in every level of the company; where new ideas are invited and implemented; and where personal happiness is paramount to success.

SMOKEBALL: There’s an understanding that every person has the opportunity to make an impact for the company and also for clients. Oh yeah, there’s also competitive benefits for medical, dental, vision and life insurance plans, paid maternity/paternity leave, generous PTO and holiday time, and 401(k) plans. Plus, there are great little add-ons like a fully stocked kitchen, weekly yoga, gym reimbursement and more. So yeah, life at Smokeball is pretty good.

Ryan Cos. team members volunteer in Markham at a community engagement project near a company project.

Milwaukee Tool hosts a wide array of events for employees throughout the year, including happy hours.

THE SALEM GROUP: Continuity of proven leadership at Salem is critical to who we are. The same executive team that founded the company leads us today with clear direction, continuous improvement and personal growth paths for employees.

3Q/DEPT: We lead with empathy and teamwork. During good times and bad, we are committed to supporting each other, our clients and our communities.

MOWERY & SCHOENFELD: By creating a culture focused on development, goals and feedback, we ensure our teams feel engaged, challenged and part of something bigger than their day-to-day tasks.

MILWAUKEE TOOL: To be able to achieve the success we’ve had, our team operates with the kind of speed and agility you’re likely to find in a tech startup versus a global, multibillion-dollar company. Key to delivering that speed and agility is collaboration.

LEAHY-IFP: We define our way of doing business by treating ourselves and our customers with dignity and respect.

WHAT MAKES YOUR FIRM A BEST PLACE TO WORK?

RYAN COS. U.S. We believe the value of the buildings we design, develop, finance, manage and construct is about more than dollars and cents—it’s also about the value they bring to the people who use them and the communities that surround them, and our employees help make that happen.

Mowery & Schoenfeld’s GLOW initiative focuses on providing the women of the rm the support they need to thrive professionally and personally.

20 SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS 2022

200 South Wacker Drive, Suite 2800, Chicago 312-508-4444 | ClaroHealthcare.com

A collaborative culture leads to year-over-year growth at Claro Healthcare

Venanzio Arquilla, Managing Director

Whilesays.

Claro Healthcare

It’s a future that truly excites him. “If we’re investing in our people, we’re able to really drive high value for our clients,” Arquilla says, “and that’s a huge growth opportunity.”

Claro Healthcare Mobile Care Chicago 2022 Civic Involvement

Yet the hybrid workforce stays close. rough collaborative so ware such as Microso Teams and remote activities like virtual cooking classes, strong relationships are built amongst the workforce while also having a little fun on the job. Claro Healthcare sends lunch gi cards to remote employees as well. “We’ve done a better job since COVID-19 to include all the folks that are working across the United States,” Arquilla

per quarter,” Arquilla says. So far, the rm has donated to more than 30 organizations. Claro Healthcare also has an active civic committee led by our junior team members, who not only do good for the community, but learn rsthand how to lead essential e orts.

Team Claro Healthcare - Corporate Challenge 2022

-Venanzio Arquilla, Managing Director

Claro Healthcare’s clients include major U.S. hospitals and healthcare systems, for which the rm provides comprehensive CDI, revenue cycle, hospital operations, and technology solutions services. “We have a number of solutions in high-impact areas,” Arquilla says. “ ere’s a very strong return on investment of at least ve-to-one in year one.”

giving back to employees and clients is a business priority, Claro Healthcare also prioritizes giving back to the community at large. “We have a matching grants program, where employees can submit a matching grant request up to a certain dollar amount

Revenue has grown 25% since 2021 as well. It’s a successful business model that Arquilla credits to 180 hardworking employees, strong company values, and diverse service o erings. “ e pressure on the healthcare industry and its hospital executives is unprecedented,” Arquilla says of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which hit the healthcare industry the hardest. “Our strategic and high impact solutions are in high demand by our clients.”

Healthcare has managed to double revenue over its ve years of operation despite spending more than two of those years navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, with a hybrid work model that sees 60% of employees based in Chicago and 40% based remotely in other locations, the rm keeps a streamlined approach to “Ourcommunication.cultureisvery

Claro Healthcare has witnessed tremendous growth in 2022. Since the beginning of the year, the Chicagobased healthcare consulting rm has added 47 new employees - the largest in its ve-year history. “In my career, this is the most new hires I have approved in such a period,” says Claro Healthcare Chairman and Managing Director Venanzio Arquilla.

“Our people are very socially-conscious,” Arquilla explains. “ ere’s been a tremendous need for social help over the past two-and-a-half years and we’re trying to contribute the best way we can.” Looking forward, Arquilla says Claro Healthcare has big plans for the future. “We have a lot of exciting growth plans ahead which will allow us to signi cantly expand our client base, capabilities and ultimately, the career path for our people.”

“Our culture is very collaborative. Both how we work within the rm as well as how we work with our clients.”

As a private company holding more than $50 million in revenue, Arquilla says that Claro

collaborative,” Arquilla describes, “both how we work within the rm as well as how we work with our clients.” It’s a business model that the Chairman calls “focused and narrow” internally and “deep in the areas that we operate with our clients.”

Claro Healthcare, ProFee Team Photo, September 2022 Celebrating our 5-Year Anniversary

CLUNE CONSTRUCTION: Clune has built an environment that fosters and rewards individual achievement as well as develops each employee’s individual pride in their efforts to deliver a product that exceeds expectations.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS PLACE TO

Cambium Networks employees worked together to assemble bikes for Toys for Tots.

CAMBIUM NETWORKS: We value employees, both personally and professionally. All of us work together to help to make our company great, and to have great employees, we need to make sure we are healthy and happy in all aspects.

MEDIAFLY: We are proud leaders in our space, and that’s thanks to the people we have by our side.

2022

22 SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

ADVANCED RESOURCES: Our culture of collaboration, diversity and inclusion allows fresh perspectives and mutual trust to flourish in every relationship we establish.

WORK? Name Field employeesU.S. Percentageoffemaleexecutives Voluntaryturnover ofPercentageemployeesworkingremotelyatleastpartoftheweek ofPercentageemployees’medicalpremiumspaidbyemployer 26 CLUNE CONSTRUCTION WestLoopConstruction57014%6%54%100% 27 ENGTAL LoopStang3340%5%100%75%-99% 28 LIBERTY ADVISOR GROUP WestLoopConsulting4030%10%100%75%-99% 29 MEDIAFLY LoopTechnology19234%10%98%75%-99% 30 SQN ASSOCIATES LoopConstruction5880%11%50%50%-74% 31 GLENSTAR Schaumburg,RollingMeadows, Bannockburn,ChicagoRealestate5023%12%0%100% 32 RALPH H. SIMPSON ElmhurstManufacturing2825%14%42%75%-99% 33 PERKINS COIE LoopLegal2,55060%12%NA100% 34 BRAVIANT HOLDINGS WestLoopFinancialservices7050%14%100%100% 35 OBJECTIVE PARADIGM LoopStang8120%13%95%75%-99% 36 OAK9 RiverNorthTechnology3833%0%100%75%-99% 37 ADVANCED RESOURCES LoopStang4645%30%100%75%-99% 38 ACCELERATED DIGITAL MEDIA WestLoop,FultonMarketAdvertising/PR2550%12%65%75%-99% 39 CAMBIUM NETWORKS RollingMeadowsTelecommunications21830%13%80%75%-99% 40 SEI RiverNorthConsulting3750%11%80%75%-99% 41 KENWAY CONSULTING LoopConsulting6843%16%90%25%-49% 42 LINK LOGISTICS REAL ESTATE Loop,RosemontRealestate76527%12%100%75%-99% 43 RICHARD GROUP GlenviewConstruction350%9%9%75%-99% 44 BURWOOD GROUP Loop,westernsuburbsConsulting22433%21%99%75%-99% 45 AVIONOS LoopConsulting11625%26%45%75%-99% 46 IMANAGE LoopTechnology49714%12%100%50%-74% 47 BAILEY EDWARD LoopArchitecture5529%24%98%100% 48 FIRST BANK CHICAGO HighlandPark,Northbrook, Skokie,WestchesterBanking13629%1%75%75%-99% 49 COHESION WestLoopTechnology4725%20%25%50%-74% 50 DUANE MORRIS FinancialDistrictLegal1,52577%10%85%75%-99%

RALPH H. SIMPSON: Our relationships with our customers, as well as our employees, are a big part of what has made our company one of the top steel fabricators in the area, as well as one of the best places to work.

ReadthesponsoredspotlightonPage27.

Readthe sponsored spotlighton Page29.

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WHAT MAKES YOUR FIRM A BEST

Ralph H. Simpson employees help clean up in Oak Brook in 2021.

ReadthesponsoredspotlightonPage23.

Ask

First Bank Chicago is one of the top ve privately held banks in the Chicago area. e bank continues to expand, opening a fullservice center in Skokie in 2019 and a loan production o ce in Westchester in 2022. e Northbrook banking center was modernized in 2021, and a future site is planned to open in the West Loop in 2023.

Decades of strong growth has been fueled by superior employee performance and dedication. Employees enjoy a generous bene ts package, including health and life insurance, 401 (k) and pro t-sharing plans, reimbursement for wellness activities, and other bene ts.

In Giangiorgi’s case, his daughter receives nearly $5,000 a year for tuition. “ is is an unbelievable bene t,” says Giangiorgi, senior vice president of consumer lending in Highland Park.ebank

633 Skokie Boulevard, Northbrook 847-272-1300 | firstbankchicago.com

Annemonth.Ronstadt

Anne Ronstadt, Senior Information Security Of cer, recently completed her certi cation program which was paid for by the bank as part of her continuous education.

Staff collectively volunteer nearly 3,000 hours annually. Serving dinner at St. James Church is just one of many volunteer activities.

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 23

Each year, the bank hosts an employee appreciation dinner.

Borja had been working as a teller and decided to nish his college degree when he found out the bank had a tuition reimbursement bene t. He was able to continue working and nish college at Northeastern Illinois University, completing most of the coursework at night. “It was a tough schedule,” Borja recalls. “But well worth it.” Since receiving his degree in nance, Borja has been promoted twice. “ e bank was very generous,” he says.

Daryl Borja why First Bank Chicago is a great place to work, and he has a ready answer. “ e bank helped me complete my education,” says Borja, who works in systems & applications support at the bank.

“The bank believes in bringing out the best in their people.”

First Bank Chicago supports education for employees—a reason why it’s been named one of Chicago’s Best Places to Work for 5 consecutive years since 2018. “We encourage self- development,” says Lenore Erickson, chief of human resources. “We o er a lot of educational opportunities.”

Eric Ephraim, president and CEO, with staff from the Highland Park banking center, showing their support for the Highland Park community by wearing t-shirts purchased for a fundraiser.

e education bene ts extend to all employees, and in some cases to their families.

David Giangiorgi participates in the children’s college fund. His daughter Alyssa receives tuition assistance to attend Illinois State University where she is majoring in bi-lingual elementary education. e bene t amount is based on the employee’s years of service.

e bank’s original location is in Highland Park. e bank legally changed its name in 2022 to First Bank Chicago to re ect the bank’s expansive client list across Chicagoland. e Highland Park location will continue to use the name, First Bank of Highland Park, a division of First Bank Chicago.

o ers other educational bene ts, such as online courses, in-person and hybrid training classes, and lunch and learn seminars. With student debt a big concern, the bank reimburses employees to repay student loans up to $200 a

handles information security for the bank. She had been planning for eight years to complete a high-level certi cation, what she describes as the information security industry’s gold standard. e test has a pass rate of only 20%. e bank paid for the course, learning materials and the test. Ronstadt passed the test, and her certi cation goes into e ect September 1. “ e bank is amazing,” she says, echoing the views of other employees at First Bank Chicago. “ e bank believes in bringing out the best in their people.”

First Bank Chicago

Education Opens Doors to Opportunity

SEI: We are an employee-owned management consulting firm that brings together experienced team members motivated to participate in owning and growing our business. Our local engagement model relies on our emphasis on culture and collaboration where consultants are empowered from day one.

24 SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

2022

GLENSTAR: We believe a great company is a place where you can do important work with people you enjoy and at the same time have fun. We have always had the approach to work on fewer projects; larger, more complicated projects; and create a company culture that encourages and rewards hard work, creativity, cooperation and mutual respect for all employees.

BURWOOD GROUP: We foster a culture that applauds teamwork and personal growth by hiring bright, driven, well-rounded individuals. We look for people dedicated to their craft and passionate about using their unique skills to impact the success of the company. We are committed to making sure our employees love their jobs.

COHESION: We encourage creativity, inclusivity and thought leadership. Unlike many workplaces, our CEO and CTO are our co-founders and are engaged in all aspects of the company.

WHAT MAKES YOUR FIRM A BEST PLACE TO WORK?

ENGTAL: We prioritize staff well-being with a comprehensive program that includes a wellness introduction for all new employees, alongside a one-to-one meeting to develop a bespoke program of support.

PERKINS COIE: By fostering an inclusive and collaborative workplace, we are able to come together for a common purpose—to provide excellent client service every day. We respect a diversity of viewpoints and ideas.

BRAVIANT HOLDINGS: Our culture is about collaboration, transparency and doing what’s right for our employees. Whether we are collaborating in person or in a virtual setting, the best idea still wins every time regardless of title or tenure.

ACCELERATED DIGITAL MEDIA: We invest in our people personally and professionally. This includes individual career road maps, stipends for learning and development, regular employee engagement surveys, and hiring personnel dedicated to improving the happiness of our team.

A WhirlyBall outing.

The game room in iManage’s Chicago o ce.

SQN ASSOCIATES: Our employees are our best asset, and we believe we have the best employees.

LIBERTY ADVISOR GROUP: We are a goal-oriented, client-focused and resultsdriven consulting firm. We are a lean, handpicked team of strategists, technologists and entrepreneurs—battle-tested experts with a steadfast, startup attitude.

OBJECTIVE PARADIGM: We take the time to hire, train and onboard new hires to ensure they are set up for success right off the bat.

LINK LOGISTICS REAL ESTATE: We value authenticity, diverse life experiences and creating a space where every voice is heard.

IMANAGE: We are passionate about our work, and you can see the direct impact on an entire industry. Everyone has an opportunity to make an impact and drive change. We’ve learned not just how to apply technology to solve interesting problems at a global scale, but also about the importance of culture that sustains innovation and growth.

SEI Cubs vs. Sox rooftop team photo in August 2021.

We give them control and we support them in their growth journey, and they determine the pace of their growth. It’s not, ‘You need to sit in this role for three years, and then we’ll change your role.’ If someone is able to come in and make an impact, we can recognize that—and we can help them move along that growth journey faster. Not everyone is on the same paced journey. e people whom we hire love this because they want to go fast and go far.

I founded the company 22 years ago when I was in my 20s, but I already had a lot of experience. My parents owned a grocery store, and I always worked from a young age. I temped so I could take a really good look at company culture, so I had a full understanding of what culture meant before I started.

Bluedog, whose executive team is 68% female, goes above and beyond with employee perks. For example, the company pays 100% of medical premiums for its employees, and they even o er pet insurance. Employees receive monthlong sabbaticals after their veand 10-year anniversaries. ere’s free parental support to help your baby sleep, introduce your baby to a second child, help with potty training . . . the list goes on.

Milwaukee Tool embraces an entrepreneurial culture that empowers employees to push the limits of innovation. It’s one reason why Milwaukee Tool has been named one of Chicago’s Best Places to Work for 2022.

Milwaukee Tool’s new technology and innovation center, part of $250M invested in new technologies over the last year.

hardware and rmware, automation, and concept engineering. “We are continually packing more power into a smaller space,” Dey says. “ at requires the best systems and brightest individuals.”

people to contribute to the organization. For example, not everyone is a great salesperson, but they might be a fantastic developer. We’ve been able to customize how we want each person to contribute to be able to bring value to the team.

electrical engineering, of the Outdoor Power Equipment Group in Chicago. “Innovators have the opportunity to pioneer new technologies without boundaries.”

How do Bluedog employees advance?

“Our culture shapes who we are,” says John Dey, senior manager,

Designing and developing breakthrough solutions, electrical, machine learning, embedded systems, rmware, software, IoT security, and motor engineers, are continually pioneering new technologies at Milwaukee Tool.

How did you get the vision for Bluedog?

Machine learning, arti cial intelligence, and wireless connectivity are all part of the research and design process at Milwaukee Tool to add more on-board intelligence to power tool solutions.

How do you give each employee a voice?

e frequency of communication. ere is a high tolerance for frequency of communication. We meet monthly. One of the other great things we’ve done is we’ve really dialed in our language and our process, our systems and ways of working around how we want

I wanted a company where everyone had a voice. I wanted a company where everyone could see themselves as a future owner or a future partner.

BY DANIELLE BRAFF

For thesecond consecutive year, Bluedog Design, a marketing and growth consultancy in Fulton Market, was ranked the top place to work by Crain’s.

If you had to name one thing as the reason you're a best place to work, what would it be?

Bluedog Design’s distributed team uses technology to work and learn together.

As an $8 billion global company, Milwaukee Tool has consistently achieved double-digit growth. But this globally successful company operates more like a tech startup, allowing employees the freedom to test new ideas without the bureaucracy o en found in big “companies.ebookends

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 25

We have a monthly town hall to say, ‘ is is what we’re doing, and this is your ability to impact that.’ We also have an annual engagement survey: An invitation to say what you want to say—what’s important to you, what you love, what you wish there was here, how you are feeling. We take that really seriously.

Each employee has a voice. ey have control, and we support them in their growth and

is mindset of pioneering emerging technologies is something that has set the company apart in its industry. Its team of engineers develops the most technologically advanced batteries, motors, electronics, and so ware solutions in the industry. One example: Milwaukee Tool invented the technology that enables the use of lithium-ion in power tools. is was an achievement that marked a turning point in the industry and changed the future of jobsites everywhere.

Bluedog Design once again tops Crain's Best Places to Work list

What have you changed as a result of employee feedback?

What it takes to get to top—twicethe

e company’s engineers work with the latest technology in machine learning, cloud and IoT connectivity, additive technology, electronics

we support each other. We foster a culture where there is a sense of belonging. From our research, belonging is why people choose to stay with a company. We just really believe that people are the No. 1 aspect.

Milwaukee Tool 433 W. Van Buren Street, Chicago milwaukeetool.jobs

But CEO and founder Michelle Hayward insists the company’s high marks among employees goes much deeper than perks. Crain’s spoke with her about how she shaped Bluedog into a fantastic place to work.

A Culture of Innovation

e company, which is a global leader in delivering innovative solutions to the professional construction trades, recently opened a 70,000-square-foot facility at Chicago’s historic Old Post O ce. e space with room for 250 employees is focused on engineering design and innovation. More than 10,000 square feet is dedicated lab space for the design and development of new technologies to deliver the best solutions for the professional trades on every job site.

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of our success are our people and our culture,” Dey says.

INFUTOR DATA SOLUTIONS: Infutor has long prioritized its culture and investments in community. With extremely competitive compensation, and benefits including 401(k), PTO and insurance options, the company is routinely recognized as a “best place to work” internally and externally.

ADAGE TECHNOLOGIES: Teams are self-governing, so every employee has a voice and the ability to influence their project.

COEUR MINING: We offer growth opportunities across a variety of fields. Many of our employees take advantage of our global transfer opportunities, gaining invaluable work experience while experiencing different cultures and experiences at our mine locations.

BEACON HILL STAFFING GROUP: Our leaders take pride in the fact that our company is not publicly traded, as it allows us to remain flexible and adjust to our people. We are commited to mutual success, despite being in an ultra-competitive environment.

26 SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS 2022 IN THEIR OWN WORDS WHAT MAKES YOUR FIRM A BEST PLACE TO WORK? Name Field employeesU.S. Percentageoffemaleexecutives Voluntaryturnover ofPercentageemployeesworkingremotelyatleastpartoftheweek ofPercentageemployees’medicalpremiumspaidbyemployer 51 MEITHEAL PHARMACEUTICAL RosemontPharmaceuticals6855%5%100%75%-99% 52 CENTRIC CONSULTING WesternsuburbsConsulting58140%16%100%75%-99% 53 BEACON FUNDING Northbrook,WestLoopFinancialservices8520%7%85%50%-74% 54 DRIEHAUS MANAGEMENTCAPITAL RiverNorthFinancialservices8520%5%100%100% 55 CLARO HEALTHCARE LoopConsulting15825%6%60%75%-99% 56 BEACON HILL STAFFING GROUP LoopStang1,10033%NA16%75%-99% 57 COEUR MINING ChicagoMining1,07614%9%44%75%-99% 58 ZORO BualoGroveRetail59838%8%96%75%-99% 59 BOLD INSIGHT DownersGrove,LoopConsulting7065%4%100%100% 60 INFUTOR DATA SOLUTIONS OakbrookTerraceTechnology11217%12%100%100% 61 ADVANCED CLINICAL Loop,DeereldLifesciences/bio-technology30650%18%100%75%-99% 62 LOGICGATE RiverNorthTechnology19743%39%90%75%-99% 63 MCSHANE CONSTRUCTION RosemontConstruction23417%18%65%75%-99% 64 ADAGE TECHNOLOGIES WestLoopTechnology7233%16%100%75%-99% 65 UPFRONT WestLoopTechnology4960%8%65%75%-99% 66 LOBERG CONSTRUCTION PalatineConstruction3140%10%80%75%-99% 67 ARCO/MURRAY DownersGrove,LoopConstruction23821%11%NA75%-99% 68 SKENDER WestLoopConstruction24920%8%50%75%-99% 69 G2 LoopTechnology39845%11%100%75%-99% 70 PETERSON TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS ParkRidgeStang2830%20%75%75%-99% 71 BAKER TILLY U.S. LoopAccounting6,16145%NANA75%-99% 72 MACIAS GINI & O’CONNELL LoopAccounting61433%29%77%75%-99% 73 GALLANT CONSTRUCTION CrystalLakeConstruction4325%2%90%50%-74% 74 ASSURANCE Schaumburg,LoopFinancialservices57850%11%95%75%-99% 75 ALTAIR ADVISERS LoopFinancialservices6427%11%97%75%-99%

Beacon Hill Chicago volunteering.

BEACON FUNDING: We believe in learning and growing as a family, and encourage a healthy work-life balance. A company’s most valuable assets are its employees, and no one understands that more than us.

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MEITHEAL PHARMACEUTICAL: We offer generous competitive benefits and salary compensation. We’re a young company that shares its success with employees and recognizes all team members and their contributions.

Clune

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 27

At Altair, too, there’s a clear career path. In every department, management documents the responsibilities, expectations and timeline for technical skills and personal development required for career progression. ey also provide nancial support for job-related credentials when applicable. is documentation provides sta with de ned tangible objectives and helps managers coach employees, helping them reach their career goals.

“People want to be at a rm where leadership gives space for these conversations and acts on the feedback,” Kohmescher says.

Construction has a simple formula for success. Treating customers right starts by treating employees right.

At a time when it’s become exceedingly di cult to ll open positions, it’s essential to retain good employees. e majority of the top companies in Crain’s Best Places to Work in Chicago list retained their employees far longer than their industry average, though they attributed their success to di ering reasons.

Busy families & talented caregivers—

“WE DO A GREAT JOB LISTENING TO OUR PEOPLE, SHOWING THEM WE VALUE THEM AND TAKING TIME TO BE TRANSPARENT.”

At First Bank Chicago (formerly First Bank of Highland Park), which had 1% turnover compared with 15% in the industry last scal year, a student-loan reimbursement program was added this year to its already exceptional bene ts. ese include a 401(k) match—100% of the employee’s rst $12,000 of contributions in the calendar year—plus pro t sharing. ere’s also paid Family & Medical Leave Act days, a yearly wellness expense reimbursement and other perks, says Randy Green, First Bank Chicago’s executive chairman.

Oak9, a software solution company in Chicago, which had no turnover during the last scal year compared with 25% in its industry, also believes bene ts are important. Salaries and bene ts

Clune is an employee-owned general contractor that manages a variety of commercial construction projects, totaling over $1 billion annually. ey employ over 600 professionals in six o ces nationally.

Next, Kohmescher says, she recognizes that clients are served well when their service team is not only responsible but proactive, identifying opportunities and raising issues for the client to “consider. atlevel of forward-looking service only happens when employees feel supported in their work and rewarded for creativity,” she Feedbacksays. helps with this aspect, so Altair solicits ongoing conversations from employees about improvement. Employees are often asked how the company can do things di erently, and what can be better—particularly surrounding issues of diversity, equity and inclusion. Change only comes through honest and

Clune living out one of their core values, service, by volunteering for Habitat for Humanity.

Employee Focus = Client Satisfaction

“I think we do a great job listening to our people, showing them we value them and taking time to be transparent about the business,” says Kim Freier, director of human resources and talent at Oak9.

10 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 2200, Chicago 312-726-6103 | clunegc.com

Founded on the principal that building a unique bond with every employee in-turn creates positive client relationships and overall company success, Clune has been named to Chicago’s Best Places to Work for 2022.

“We focus on promoting internally to ll positions; our sta consistently voices their appreciation for Bridge’s e orts to promote from within, reinforcing the potential for career progression at the rm,” Poulos says.

Clune’s culture also values teamwork. High performing teams empower each other because they are focused on the same goal –achieving the best outcome for their clients. “We’re part of a group pulling together,” Van Oosbree says. “Everyone is valued.”

Rebekah Kohmescher, CEO of Altair Advisers, says it’s key to hire people who are a good t with your company if you’re hoping they’ll stay a while. At Altair, where the most recent scal year’s voluntary turnover was 11% compared with the industry’s 25% average, she says they look to hire self-starters— people who are motivated to seek responsibilities and take ownership of their work, who are collaborative and able to work across departments, and who nd Altair’s highly customized approach to client servicing to be personally and professionally ful lling.

Clune Construction Company

Here’s how these firms keep employee turnover low

Clune Chicago celebrates summer by participating in a softball league in the city every week!

That’s why we’ve been named one of the best places to work in Chicago by Crain’s. Join us in reimagining child care as we connect passionate caregivers with the families who depend on them through the pioneering spirit of our team.

BY DANIELLE BRAFF

open conversations, she notes.

At a time when hiring is harder than ever, keeping the employees you have is paramount

“By providing clarity on the competencies required to go to the next level, people are empowered to take action,” Kohmescher says. Perks also help.

are reviewed frequently—recognizing that the market changes quickly. e company added a bene ts survey in 2021 to gather information about what employees like and what they wish they had, and as a result, they added: a $1,000 continuous education budget for each employee along with an improved health insurance plan.

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At Bridge Industrial, a real estate company in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood, the voluntary turnover rate in its most recently completed scal year was 2%. e average for that industry: 19%. Steve Poulos, CEO of Bridge Industrial, attributes the low rate to a positive company culture and a collaborative work environment. But one other company practice, which makes employees feel appreciated, is key.

Backed by a team dedicated to making child care workatedrk eiversndeering

Placing a high value on growth from within, Clune provides on-thejob training, and professional development opportunities to support employee advancement. “We want to make sure our people are ready for the next step in their careers,” says Joe Van Oosbree, Managing Director of Clune’s Midwest Operations.

Rebekah Kohmescher, CEO of Altair Advisers

WHAT MAKES YOUR FIRM A BEST PLACE TO WORK?

LOGICGATE: Our secret weapon is our employees. Our Total Rewards Package supports our team members both at work and outside of it—because we do want them to have a life outside of work. We offer generous PTO, summer and winter Fridays and health days. We also aim to create an environment where everyone feels safe showing up as they are.

MCSHANE CONSTRUCTION: Free healthy snacks and fresh produce in the lunchroom. Fun monthly events. We have fun with sporting events like a chili cook-off before the Super Bowl, wearing college sweatshirts during March Madness, organizing football/basketball pools and wearing team jerseys for Blackhawks and Cubs playoff games.

ASSURANCE: Consistenly recognized as a top workplace, we attract and retain talent by rewarding expertise, investing in career development and recognizing contributors.

CENTRIC CONSULTING: Centric’s Core Purpose is to “Create Unmatched Client and Employee Experiences.” Everything we do ties back to this purpose. Our company culture is key to what makes us successful and what sets us apart from our competition.

2021 summer rm picnic.

SKENDER: We’re committed to providing our employees with continuous learning and ongoing coaching without micromanaging.

28 SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

DRIEHAUS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: Our culture is defined by an entrepreneurial spirit and passionate, intellectually curious, open-minded employees. We are committed to fostering and preserving a culture of diversity and inclusion with an emphasis on integrity, collaboration and community.

ARCO/MURRAY: From sabbaticals every five years to making time in our busy workdays for a drink in the kitchen or a game of basketball on our courts, we fuel our positivity with fun.

ALTAIR ADVISERS: Altair works with a consultant to review our hiring and management policies across the firm and to increase our awareness of where change is needed to help us achieve greater inclusion.

2022

An all-company meeting.

HEALTHCARE:CLARO

ZORO: The work/life balance is incredible.

Lindsey Todt celebrates at the colleague holiday party.

CLINICAL:ADVANCEDWe find our purpose in how we work and how we show up for those who count on us. We believe respect is earned. It is our priority that our workplace be inclusive, welcoming of diverse ideas and appreciative of valuable experience.

While we do have titles, there is a spirit of equality clientsmadedecisionssocheckedute—titlesexpertiseeveryonerecognitionandthathasantocontrib-trulyareatthedoorthatthebestcanbeforbothourandtheteam.

2021 holiday party.

BOLD INSIGHT: One of the pillars of our company mission is to support and empower employees. We have cultivated a company culture grounded in trust, transparency, empathy, compassion, support and levity.

companies struggle with how to bring workers back to the o ce, Kenway Consulting has the same policy as it had before the pandemic: Kenway has no policy. Instead, employees are guided to work wherever they will be most productive.

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PrioritiesAirport.

Strong Corporate Culture Spurs Growth

e proof? More than 90% of employees plan to attend the company’s half-day meeting in September, followed by a philanthropic fundraising event. “We apply our Guiding Principles to the ever-evolving hybrid workforce,” Kueker says. “Employees appreciate that.”

Earlier this year, employees and their families packed meals for Feed My Starving Children, an organization that focuses on preventing under-nutrition in children around the world.

e camera-on setting is the default setting for Zoom meetings, as seeing other team members’ faces regularly is crucial to building relationships in a remote setting. But, Na says, there are no questions asked if someone wants their camera to remain o .

While

“A tip we’d give to other companies is to provide exible options while also recognizing that company culture transcends a physical o ce space,” Carter says. “Although we’ve given employees the freedom to work remotely, most of our employees voluntarily come into the o ce at least two to three days per week because we’ve been successful in maintaining a company culture in which employees enjoy working alongside their co-workers.”

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 29

More than half of employees today are working from a home o ce, a couch or even from bed, legs tucked comfortably under the covers.Awhopping 59% of workers with jobs that can be done from home are teleworking today, just a slight drop from the peak of the pandemic in October 2020, when 71% were home, according to the Pew Research Center.

WayFinder swiftly provided each employee with a home workstation, and they learned how to do their jobs via cloud-based software and communication platforms, says Preston Carter, director of operations. Once the company went remote, WayFinder’s managers needed to check in more frequently and be accessible through video conferencing.

Kenway’s culture rests on its list of Guiding Principles which helped it thrive through the pandemic. One of the key themes: Each individual is treated uniquely. “We put people rst,” says Kenway CEO Matt Kueker.

Recognizing that in-person collaboration is essential at certain times in a project cycle, Kenway leverages its strong culture to create an environment where people want to be together, not one where they are forced to be together.

e Lactation Network, a breastfeeding-support company, which went from a 100% in-ofce environment to o ering a remote option for all employees, revisited many corporate standards to make the transition ow smoothly. “Weplace a high premium on each other’s time,” says Sarah Kellogg Na , the Chicago-based CEO. “Especially in a hybrid environment, this means a disciplined meeting culture.”

Marking its 10th anniversary, SQN attributes its success to its employees. “We value our team as part of the SQN family,” Makhani says. “Our company wouldn’t be where it is today without them.”

SQN Promotes Employee-Centric Culture

SQN employees joined industry partners to sponsor SOS Illinois’ 2022 Evening of Hope which aims to provide high-quality, exceptional programs to children in foster care.

For example, employees provide the average number of hours they would ideally like to work each week, along with how many vacation days they plan to take. Bonuses are individualized too, tailored to the employee’s contribution. Kueker meets personally every quarter with each employee for 30 minutes without a formal agenda.

Kenway Consulting

e top 100 companies in Crain’s Best Places to Work 2022 overwhelmingly allow and encourage employees to skip the commute and work wherever they’re comfortable—even if this choice wasn’t o ered pre-pandemic.Sohow is it working? Is productivity su ering? Are working hours longer?EveryShorter? company interviewed by Crain’s reported signi cantly higher levels of productivity after switching from in-o ce to remote work.AtYCharts, an investment research platform that ranked 19th on Crain’s list, 10% of employees had a work-anywhere option pre-pandemic; that percentage is 90% now. YCharts CEO Sean Brown says once the number of people working from home increased, productivity rose by 10% to “If20%.you hire strong people who know what they need to do to succeed, they should be treated like adults and be allowed to work wherever they prefer to work,” Brown says. “Our employees feel more in harmony in their lives having the freedom and exibility to de ne their own working arrangements.”Working from home for YCharts isn’t without set expectations, however. ere are all-company in-person meetings two or three times a year, along with weekly or monthly teamEmployeesdays. who do make the commute are rewarded with a free lunch at the o ce.

“OUR EMPLOYEES FEEL MORE IN HARMONY IN THEIR LIVES HAVING THE FREEDOM AND FLEXIBILITY TO DEFINE THEIR OWN WORKING ARRANGEMENTS.”

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e company began 2022 with 64 employees, and plans to grow to 85 by year’s end. e culture emphasizes the importance of employee engagement, continuing education and work-life balance.

With 67 employees, Chicago-based SQN is currently involved in managing projects with a combined worth over $2B in Illinois, Indiana and Georgia. Notable work includes the modernization of CTA’s Red & Purple Lines and the expansion of Terminal 5 at O’Hare

How’s that remote work thing working out? Pretty well.

BY DANIELLE BRAFF

At WayFinder Logistics in Chicago, which went from no work-fromhome employees pre-pandemic to a 100% telecommuting option, the IT team prepared everyone with equipment and training.

20 N. Clark Street, #1825, Chicago 888-953-6929 | kenwayconsulting.com

Sean Brown, YCharts CEO

Rules instituted included mandatory in-o ce work only during orientation and onboarding and for career-development purposes.

Every company interviewed reported signi cantly higher levels of productivity after switching to remote work

Working from home doesn’t happen without a lot of inside help.

at approach re ects just one reason why Kenway has been named one of Chicago’s Best Places to Work for 2022. e management and technology consulting company has been able to attract and retain top talent because of its strong corporate culture.

at SQN include the professional development and personal well-being of employees. A strong leadership team informed by employee feedback supports overall project success. Paying this success forward through community service is part of the equation, too.

Putting clients rst means putting employees rst. is de nes company culture at SQN Associates, a rm providing construction management, project management, and owner’s rep services. “Focusing on our employees allows them to focus on delivering superior results to our clients,” says Rozie Makhani, President at SQN.

SQN Associates

stations; it lets employees know when their co-workers will be in the o ce.

A “hot desk” platform allows employees to reserve in-o ce work-

is means the default meeting length is 30 minutes, and employees are encouraged to inquire why they were invited to the meeting; they also may decline attending if they believe their time would be better spent elsewhere, Na says.

134 North LaSalle Street, Suite 700, Chicago 312-625-9500 | sqna.com

Wednesdays are meeting-free days. “ e impulse to ll every day with meetings is real, especially when we’re not all working in the same o ce,” Na says. “No-meeting Wednesdays give our team space to take a breath, catch up on emails and do deep-focus work.”

WHAT MAKES YOUR FIRM A BEST PLACE TO WORK?

30 SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 • CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS 2022 Name Field employeesU.S. Percentageoffemaleexecutives Voluntaryturnover ofPercentageemployeesworkingremotelyatleastpartoftheweek ofPercentageemployees’medicalpremiumspaidbyemployer 76 SONGFINCH BucktownTechnology3240%0%30%75%-99% 77 KENSINGTON SCHOOL BurrRidgeEducation3675%10%3%25%-49% 78 BUILT IN LoopTechnology22564%22%90%50%-74% 79 PRIME TSR LoopTechnology6417%8%100%50%-74% 80 PROMINENCE ADVISORS LincolnshireHealthcaresupplier6333%22%100%25%-49% 81 PARIVEDA SOLUTIONS LoopConsulting73620%20%50%100% 82 RYAN LLC Loop,DownersGroveCorporatetax1,94623%12%95%75%-99% 83 BOS Roselle,ChicagoOcefurniture14550%15%35%25%-49% 84 BRIDGE INDUSTRIAL RosemontRealestate880%2%0%100% 85 ALLCAMPUS LoopEducation14040%12%99%50%-74% 86 LOGICAL MEDIA GROUP RiverNorthAdvertising/PR4440%55%70%50%-74% 87 LOGIWA TECHNOLOGY LoopTechnology3125%10%100%100% 88 LASALLE NETWORK Chicago,OakBrook,SchaumburgStang29150%25%20%75%-99% 89 INTEGRATED MANAGEMENTPROJECT BurrRidgeConsulting22029%14%NA100% 90 PKF MUELLER Western,southwestsuburbs;ChicagoAccounting17729%8%80%75%-99% 91 SHAMROCK TRADING LombardTransportation1,72922%NA80%100% 92 SITTERCITY ChicagoTechnology7071%16%95%50%-74% 93 EVERGREEN BANK GROUP EvergreenPark,Hinsdale,OakBrookBanking18045%3%70%75%-99% 94 STOUT LoopFinancialservices57143%13%100%75%-99% 95 ACLAIMANT RiverNorthTechnology5530%4%100%100% 96 FOCUSED LABS LoopTechnology4550%6%65%100% 97 RHEAPLY LoopTechnology5517%6%50%100% 98 MAGENIUM SOLUTIONS GlenEllyn,ArlingtonHeightsConsulting590%5%90%75%-99% 99 MESIROW RiverNorth,HighlandPark,OakBrookFinancialservices49033%7%100%75%-99% 100 KOVITZ Loop,NorthbrookFinancialservices8831%3%99%75%-99%

SONGFINCH: Our employees get to work in a very creative environment with music and live performance with some of the most talented artists in the work. We run a work/life-focused office culture, with unlimited PTO and support for outside passions.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

Song nch team retreat at The Forge.

KENSINGTON SCHOOL: We offer both part-time and full-time positions and provide extensive professional development and many opportunities for advancement. You can build a career at Kensington School, a family-led organization that is dedicated to excellence in early childhood education.

BUILT IN: We’re committed to a culture where all people are respected, have a say and can be their whole selves. We will uplift and advocate for one another.

PROMINENCE ADVISORS: We strive day in and day out to hire the best and brightest minds in health care IT to create and foster a culture where these bright minds can do their best work. Whether it’s flexible schedules, 100% remote work, generous holiday schedules or recognition programs, our focus is enabling our team to do great work.

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BRIDGE INDUSTRIAL: We pay for 100% of insurance premiums. We also offer a 401(k) match. We provided each employee a swag bag with sustainable items that promote health and well-being and have launched a green office policy, giving employees flexibility to work from home.

“Our leaders share vulnerably, talking openly during companywide meetings about therapy starting with the C-suite, to help

e way the companies support their employees, however, varies greatly.LaSalle Network Tech Sta ng, a sta ng company in the Loop, launched its Brain Health & Wellness Groups in partnership with LifePath erapy Associates, which provides free assistance to sta via sessions with licensed clinicians focusing on topics that include anxiety, depression, relationships, stress and working parents. LaSalle also o ers employees low-cost copays to see therapist psychologists and psychiatrists. e company instituted remote weeks before, during and after holidays to provide additional exibility and take away the stress of being in an o ce around people pre-travel in these COVID times. Another perk: impromptu mental health days that are doled out throughout the year.

Stout employees take in a Cubs game on a rooftop deck

Magenium Solutions holdiay party.

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 31

LASALLE NETWORK: When our business dropped 70% over a three-day period in April 2020, our CEO committed to no layoffs, ensuring employees that they could feel secure.

SHAMROCK TRADING: We have defined career paths so employees know what they need to do to get promoted.

“We aim to provide an environment where every employee is empowered to be their best self,” Krebs says. “It not only helps with employee mental health and well-being, but also with productivity, retention and on-the-job safety.”

FOCUSED LABS: Our team does weekly lunches where we can share learnings and best practices, and everyone gets exposure to multiple projects and tech stacks each year. We do periodic trainings around best practices and encourage our employees to share learnings.

normalize it and help employees comfortably when seeking it out,” says Sirmara Campbell, LaSalle Network’s chief human resources o cer. “Empathic leadership is directly tied to helping employees manage mental health, and we coach our leaders to practice empathy, taking time to understand what it’s like being in the other person’sMichelleshoes.”Hayward, CEO of Bluedog Design, a business strategy, innovation and design consultancy, agrees with that approach. She believes that mental health is just as important as physical health. at’s why her company allows employees to take time o for mental health days and half-day summer Fridays and also provides access to mental health professionals, self-care apps and programs that include gym membership discounts, in-o ce massages and even pet insurance (because pets can ease mental health pain).

In January, Coeur Mining, one of Crain’s 100 Best Places to Work, partnered with Lyra Health to provide employees mental health bene ts. Lyra connects employees and their families with therapists and mental health coaches online and in person. Since launching the program, Coeur management has seen a steady adoption rate of more than 120 sessions with counselors, says Mitchell Krebs, CEO of CoeurCoeurMining.also plans to provide training to its managers on ways to detect and communicate with an employee who may have a mental health concern.

EVERGREEN BANK GROUP: We value a balance between employees’ personal life and work life, giving all employees over four weeks of paid time off per year (excluding our 11 paid holidays) and encouraging this time is used.

Mental health is finally taking center stage in the workplace

BY DANIELLE BRAFF

From wellness seminars to mental health days, companies recognize the importance of mental health

Mental health wellness is no longer a nice-to-have work perk. Today, it’s a Accordingnecessity. toMind Share Partners’ 2021 Mental Health at Work Report, 50% of full-time employees in the United States left a job due in part to mental health reasons (the number jumps to 81% of Gen Z and 68% of millennial respondents). And 76% of survey respondents reported experiencing at least one symptom of a mental health condition, ranging from burnout to depression to anxiety, in the past year.

STOUT: We offer excellent schedule flexibility for employees.

ACLAIMANT: Top-notch, experienced talent drives momentum, not to mention the continuous improvement and career development of junior staff. Family-style collaboration allows anyone at any experience a place to voice opinion or share ideas.

MAGENIUM SOLUTIONS: We recognize outstanding achievement and drive for excellence. We challenge employees and ourselves to be the best they can be and provide excellent customer service. Part of this means supporting employees with technology, training and anything else they need.

But companies that support their employees’ mental health are rewarded: e employees are 2½ times more likely to stay at their company for at least two years, the study says.

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GEORGE THIES Managing Director 630-709-4427george.thies@riveron.comRiveron

As the nation comes down from a historic spike in M&A activity, Crain’s Content Studio asked three market experts to tell us what they’ve observed in recent years, what they’re seeing today and whether they have any predictions for the future.

With high-interest rates and debt being more expensive, do you see the spike in M&A continuing? What kind of pace of transaction activity do you expect for the rest of the Johnyear?Koenigsknecht:

George Thies: Rising interest rates are one of several factors that may bring M&A activity down from all-time highs in 2021. However, 2021 levels were not sustainable over an extended period and while the increasing cost of leverage is likely to have an in uence on multiples and

moderate deal volume, there is still a lot of dry powder to be deployed, and deals will continue to be completed despite a less favorable interest rate environment.

Partner & Chair, Corporate & Securities practice group Neal Gerber 312-269-5382jkoenigsknecht@nge.comEisenberg

— THOMPSON FLANAGAN, AN NFP COMPANY

Koenigsknecht: Divestitures appear to be on the rise, but not in the sense of unveiling an exit strategy. Businesses are divesting marginal assets to create capital to make acquisitions aligned with their long-term objectives. It should also

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Brian Flanagan: Re nitiv reported that private equity deal activity is down 25% year-to-date. And the overall market for M&A is down 39% year-to-date. For larger deals, the debt market is very challenging. Many clients have stated that the “debt markets are frozen” as lenders look for more clarity on the state of the economy. For middlemarket rms, the higher interest rate

JOHN KOENIGSKNECHT

Are current interest-rate hikes deterring business owners from exiting their businesses?

How are in ation, supplychain issues and the RussiaUkraine war in uencing deal

Flanagan: Right now, most rms that invest in consumer businesses are taking a very cautious approach with their investments. at said, rms that invest in healthcare, technology and infrastructure seem to be moving forward at a relatively healthy pace. Supply chain issues seem to be abating

BRIAN FLANAGAN,

TRENDS IN MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

Amid a urry of activity and against a still-volatile economic backdrop, the landscape of M&A opportunities will be of particular interest in 2023.

BRIAN FLANAGAN Managing Director Thompson Flanagan, An NFP Company b anagan@thompson anagan.com 312-239-2810

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In ation and interest rates have climbed signi cantly in 2022, and that, put simply, has made capital more expensive. With that said, we have seen that a signi cant part of the M&A activity continues to be attributable to private equity being active in the market. Looking at the second quarter of 2022, we’ve had about eight consecutive quarters in which deal value has outpaced historic deal-value levels. Su cient M&A activity exists in the marketplace, and should produce enough turnover for investors to be active for the rest of the year.

environment has not been that big of an impediment. Most middlemarket rms continue to plow ahead at a measured pace. We usually see a spike in deal activity at the end of the year. We expect a bit of a pick-up, but nowhere near the pace of 2021.

e M&A market in 2021 moved along at a record-setting pace, but with higher interest rates, in ation, global con ict, and supply chain instability, among other issues, M&A activity did slow in the rst half of 2022, particularly in the rst quarter. While the second half of 2022 is expected to remain relatively strong, particularly when compared to the 2020 market, some experts are pointing toward scenarios in which the M&A market could experience a cooldown for just those reasons. Although there is now increased market uncertainty, many expect activity to remain positive, just not as strong as its recent historic heights. We also anticipate seeing a shi back to more balanced deal terms as it becomes a bit less of a seller-friendly market.

NFP.com

Koenigsknecht:volume?

somewhat, but it has certainly been a challenge for companies to keep up with demand. We are now hearing about companies facing a supply glut as the tightening of monetary policy, and the end of COVID-19 relief, has run out of steam. e Russia-Ukraine con ict seems to be adding anxiety for investors, but I have not heard many claims that it is curbing their dealmaking since most middle market investors are making (predominantly) North American acquisitions.

Thies: While increasing interest rates are beginning to impact multiples, there is still plenty of buyer demand. However, expectations around valuations may need to be realigned with the current macroeconomic environment for current processes to your life.

“THERE

SEEMS TO BE A DISCONNECT BETWEEN WHAT SELLERS AND BUYERS FEEL A BUSINESS IS WORTH—WHICH IS ANOTHER REASON THE DEAL PACE HAS COME DOWN THIS YEAR.”

be noted that SPAC activity in the M&A marketplace has declined, in large part due to increased regulatory scrutiny, changes in the use of nancial projections by private targets going through de-SPAC transactions, and increased reporting requirements.

Uncertainty in general is a barrier to deal activity, and the more visibility we have into where

Thies: While there is a greater level of unpredictability than in recent periods there may be opportunity for PE investors in the form multiples coming back down to more attractive levels. While there is no single set of industries, we see PE investors focused on in aggregate, economic

greatly across industries, regions, and employee groups, it is necessary to evaluate each individual target and consider pro forma adjustments to normalize historical results on a case-by-case basis.

already divested and continue to divest non-core businesses. From a legal perspective, we have already seen the impact of the pandemic ow

Private equity rms continue to get great treatment in Washington.

When you partner with our nationally recognized M&A team, you will be guided by seasoned attorneys with broad industry experience from concept to closing. As you transform your business, we will provide thoughtful counsel tailored to your business objectives and focused on driving your business forward. Our collaborative approach delivers results. Successful Mergers and Acquisitions Are a Team Eﬀort. Learn more about how we can help your business at nge.com

Flanagan: It appears that valuations certainly peaked in 2021. Many investors are reluctant to overspend given the macroeconomic issues we have discussed. ese issues are coupled with sellers not being willing to come down on their price expectations. ere seems to be a disconnect between what sellers and buyers feel a business is worth — which is another reason the deal pace has come down this year.

through the documents, such as in force majeure clauses, but it will be interesting to see how this continues to play out over time in the de nitions of material adverse e ect and in review by the courts.

After the now legendary “COVID bump” in valuations, have those gains leveled off now or not? And are they accounted for as the normal course of Koenigsknecht:business?

TRENDS IN MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

Flanagan: I don’t think so. I would say that investors are much more cautious about the businesses they are investing in because of all the uncertainty in the world. e EBIDTA multiples over the past 10 years continued to increase seemingly every year. e supply of “good” companies has certainly been thin relative to the number of investors willing to invest in those companies. is seems to be the driving force in the EBIDTA multiple expansion. It appears that those multiples have plateaued in the past few months as investors reevaluate their appetite and portfolio.

Flanagan: We will need to see the credit markets continue to be healthy. If they shut down the way we saw in 2008-2010, deal activity will go down dramatically. It would be nice to see the stock market recover as well. Many limited partners are negatively affected by the “denominator effect” when the stock market “corrects” the way it has this year. The denominator effect skews many institutional portfolio allocations. If certain investors want to have 12% of their investments towards illiquid investments and the stock market goes down, they find they have a larger allocation towards private equity than they allocated towards the investment strategy. When the denominator effect kicks in, investors need to shed private equity assets. And, of course, an easing of inflation would be welcomed by all.

Koenigsknecht: Private equity has been and continues to be an important player in the M&A market. Practitioners in the United States know that there is signi cant capital in the private equity market that can be deployed in the second half of 2022. Although it recently has shown a decrease in volume, the technology sector is still a signi cant driver when it comes to the percentage of market share, and we’ve seen some of that at our rm. Private equity investors may also begin to focus on areas such as renewable energy, life sciences/health care, or nancial services, where there has been some growth in market share and which could continue to heat up.

of M&A opportunities

Amid a urry of activity and against a still-volatile economic backdrop, the landscape will be of particular interest in 2023.

“ALTHOUGH THERE IS TURBULENCE, WE CURRENTLY HAVE AN ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH THE FUNDAMENTALS SHOULD EXIST FOR CONTINUED AND TARGETED ACTIVITY IN THE M&A MARKET IN THE COMING MONTHS.”

Thies: As both borrowing costs and macroeconomic risks increase there will be less room for error from both buyers and lenders perspectives, which will reinforce the importance of sell-side diligence. It will be imperative to come into a process with clean numbers and avoid surprises to prevent re-trading and dead or stalled deals given there is going to be even greater scrutiny around the nancials and less willingness to absorb multiple expansions that could result from ndings in the buyer’s diligence process.

Valuations have come down some from 2021 levels. ere’s nothing normal about the economic and societal challenges and transformations businesses have faced over the last few years and the uncertainties they continue to face. But when those valuations come down and stay down, there will be opportunities for greater returns to be discovered. e market and deal terms have adjusted to COVID-19 risks, and many companies have

Thies: In general, valuations seem to have leveled o or are coming down some from those that came out of the COVID recovery in 2021. With respect to the impact of COVID-19 on the operations and nancial results of target companies, there are many factors to consider when evaluating normal course vs. temporary impacts due to pent up demand, federal stimulus, shutdowns, and furloughs, etc. Given the impact of COVID-19 varied

private space where stocks might look cheap on a relative basis. It is certainly possible for some of the companies that merged with a SPAC to be taken private again as many of those stocks have been punished in the public markets. In this market, buyers see a lot more uncertainty, and most sellers still have not reduced their expectations on what their business is worth.

close. ere is always some level of expectation gap between buyers and sellers, but given record multiples in recent history and the impact of rising interest rates on highly leveraged PE deals, there may be a reset needed.

What are the best areas of opportunity for private equity investors right now? Are you seeing particular interest in certain sectors or industries?

the economy is headed, the more confidently deals can proceed. Optimally, we would see inflation levels remediate, which would in turn signal a slowdown, and potential reversion, in interest rate hikes that would support strong deal flow.

— JOHN KOENIGSKNECHT, NGE

What do you think we will need to see in the next six months with the economy for deal activity to continue with con Thies:dence?

With a cool down in multiples, are we entering a buyer’s market? If yes, what should sellers keep in Koenigsknecht:mind?

M&A multiples did cool down, but if you look at the second quarter of 2022, they are nearly where they were for the first quarter of 2021. It may take some time before this is widely known or for the market to react. So it may be hasty to say that we are entering a buyer’s market. We are probably looking at a more balanced market, at least in the short term. With that in mind, it could be a mistake to approach transactions too conservatively. M&A investors still have significant capital to be deployed, and those advising them may want to revise their strategies to take advantage of these new opportunities and valuations.

It is true that

Flanagan: We don’t see that multiples have come down much. You might see that more in the public to

Diligence is critical in any deal, and it is essential to have skilled legal and nancial advisors engaged early in the process. It goes directly to deal certainty, risk allocation, valuation/pricing, deal structuring and the expected transition a er close. In the current market, there is an increased emphasis on reliable revenue streams of the target going forward. We have noticed purchasers requesting a more granular

As a result, it may be a strategic time for carve-outs and divestitures of noncore business units which are likely to remain viable given the level of PE dry powder.

GEORGE THIES is a managing director at Riveron with over 15 years of experience in public accounting and transaction services, including leading nancial due diligence on over 200 M&A transactions. George has worked with both public and private companies across a variety of industries including food and beverage, manufacturing, distribution, software, professional services, construction and consumer products. He has advised private, corporate, and nancial buyers and sellers with buy-side and sell-side due diligence; nancial statement analysis; carve-outs / stand-alone analyses; nancial modeling and post-closing working capital adjustments.

Koenigsknecht:strategy?

Have you seen an increase in due diligence required to complete deals? Other than the QofE, what is the most critical, insightful and necessary part of doing due diligence on a Koenigsknecht:target?

legal review of revenue-generating contracts and their sensitivity to supply chain disruption issues. In addition, we have seen more focus on retaining key talent at target companies.

ABOUT THEBRIANPANELISTSFLANAGAN

improving your supply chain and thereby reducing costs through M&A transactions, expect continued competition for targets in this area in the coming quarters.

is a lead managing director within Thompson Flanagan’s Private Equity Practice. In 2021, Thompson Flanagan was acquired by NFP, a leading property and casualty broker, bene ts consultant, wealth manager, and retirement plan advisor. Flanagan previously served as president of Thompson Flanagan’s executive liability practice, overseeing management liability, property and casualty, and reps and warranties. Additionally, from 1995 to 2000, he was a senior vice president in Marsh’s FINPRO department in New York City, brokering directors and of cers insurance on behalf of nancial institution clients.

“IT SEEMS LIKELY THAT AT LEAST A TEMPORARY SLOWDOWN IS IN STORE UNTIL THERE IS MORE VISIBILITY INTO THE TRAJECTORY OF INFLATION, INTEREST RATES, AND WHETHER WE ARE HEADED FOR A SOFT LANDING AND MILD RECESSION OR SOMETHING WORSE.”

Thies: With borrowing costs increasing and in anticipation of an economic slowdown, corporations may seek to fortify their balance sheets and focus on core operations.

Flanagan: Healthcare remains very resilient and attractive to many investors. e healthcare sector has proven to be a solid performer even in uncertain times. While we are not seeing as many “platform” investments as we did last year, we are seeing a healthy amount of “add-ons” in this environment as companies look to make strategic smaller acquisitions. While these might not be as sexy as new platforms, they certainly can be very accretive to earnings throughout the ownership of a given company.

the nancials are re ective of current cost levels on a pro forma basis. In addition to the QofE, it is critical to evaluate net working capital for both purchase agreement related target setting as well as capital requirements. Supply chain issues and rising costs have increased working capital needs and lengthened the cash conversion cycle for many companies. As a result, buyers need to take a close look at the timing of cash ows and assess the impacts of in ation and other business challenges on pro forma net working capital to ensure appropriate nancing levels.

opportunities for corporations that have strategically planned for these issues. Corporations that are perceived to t into this category are becoming more attractive investments, including to a growing number of funds and investors that are speci cally formed to focus on ESG initiatives at target companies. Another important consideration that could a ect M&A timetables is the intensi ed regulatory scrutiny of these transactions, which can add unanticipated complexities toward closing deals and extend deal timelines beyond those originally anticipated. Finally, if you’re a company considering

SPONSORED CONTENT

JOHN KOENIGSKNECHT is the chair of Neal Gerber Eisenberg’s Corporate & Securities practice group and co-chair of its cross-border & international practice group. He counsels public and private companies across the United States and regularly acts as U.S. counsel for international clients on complicated corporate transactions, capital market transactions and governance matters. He is also the Global Chair of the Mergers and Acquisition Special Business Team for Interlaw and President of the Board of Directors of CommunityHealth NFP.

headwinds and increasing borrowing costs will make focused attention on the investment thesis important throughout the transaction cycle from careful diligence, to value creation through synergy capture and e ective post-close integration. As a result, PE investors are likely to emphasize industries and sectors where they have existing expertise, platforms that are expanding through roll-up strategies, and where there is opportunity for synergy and supply chain integration across the portfolio.

Thies: At a high-level, diligence requirements haven’t necessarily increased but there is greater focus on certain factors given the evolving economic conditions. For instance, as target companies are faced with increasing labor and other input costs, it is important to understand the sustainability of historical margins, how e ectively rising costs have been passed on to customers and to ensure

— GEORGE THIES, RIVERON

Flanagan: For us, there is a high focus on the cost. We have been in a very challenging insurance cycle where premiums have risen for the past two and a half years. Insurance companies are struggling to be pro table given many of the obstacles they face: climate change creating more catastrophic events, in ation driving up the cost of replacing and xing cars and homes, and the continued complexity and cost of litigation. Luckily for most buyers, the insurance market has started to so en, and prices have started to come down in most lines of business. e big outlier would be for cyber liability insurance, where prices continue to rise with the unprecedented rise of bad actors in ltrating companies’ systems and creating havoc — and claims for underwriters.

What do you think corporations should consider in this deal economy in relation to their M&A

Current public opinion and investor preferences regarding environmental, social and governance (ESG) are creating new expectations and

on decision-making—when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em, in other words. In general, he says, “Women and people of color want to come to work at our rm. It’s going to be a huge competitive advantage over the next 30 years.”

Morningstar says clients have by and large stuck with Ariel, with out ows this year in Rogers’ funds of about $190 million, or roughly 5% of assets. Clients, however, often wait until the end of the year to make de cisions about hiring and ring mon ey managers. Rogers says clients will reward Ariel because “they saw how well we did coming out of the last crisis with COVID.”

Says Morningstar’s Carey: “She’s got a lot on her plate, but as far as we can tell, she’s still very much in volved, at least on (Ariel’s) opera tional side.”

As co-CEO of Ariel Investments, Mellody Hobson has tried to capture growth in the booming sector of exchange-traded funds.

advocating for more racial diversity in boardrooms and nancial literacy among young African Americans.

Last year, his two funds more or less tracked the market, but in 2020, they outperformed it three or four times over. “So when someone wants to get caught up in the last six months, it doesn’t make sense to us,” he says.

“It’s been a rough go. I certain ly did not expect them to be in the bottom decile,” says Morningstar analyst David Carey. “We do recog nize that stock picking has not been favorable so far. It’s disappointing from that perspective, but I think they’re well suited to handle this

A major reason why Rogers’ funds track each other’s performance is their overlapping portfolios—24 stocks in common out of 38 in one fund and 42 in the other. e funds are concentrated, with only about half the number of stocks of the peer-group average. And turnover is low: Some holdings, such as real estate company JLL and advertising company Interpublic Group, date to 2001 and others have been in the portfolio almost as Notwithstandinglong.the patient in vesting philosophy of Warren Buf fett (and his disciple Rogers), a stagnant portfolio can crimp returns when discounts to value shrink over time in a reasonably e cient mar ket. Rogers reverses the argument, maintaining that some of Ariel’s cheapest buying opportunities al ready are in its portfolio. He points, for example, to Madison Square Garden Sports, despite a 28% slide in its stock since the pandemic be gan and one tenant, the New York Knicks, losing too many games. “If you stick with ‘em and they’re strong, good companies, they come roaring back,” he says. “It’s not that we don’t make mistakes. We do,” he alsoRogerssays. says he’s comfortable with the depth and vigor of Ariel’s bench and with two underlings he views as heirs apparent as chief invest ment o cer: Director of Research Tim Fidler, 51, and Ken Kuhrt, 46, a co-portfolio manager. All the same, he says, Ariel is in talks with Annie Duke, the professional poker cham pion, to come aboard as an adviser

Rogers says he retired from boards at nonpro ts Rush Univer sity Medical Center, the Chicago Ur ban League and the Chicago Sym phony Orchestra; he spent 30 years or more on each. He remains on the University of Chicago board of trust ees (as vice chair) and the Obama Foundation board. He paints his service at UChicago and as a direc tor of McDonald’s, e New York Times and Nike as a positive for his day job, allowing him to learn from other accomplished executives. He describes his 18 years as an Aon director as a tutorial, making him a better analyst of the insurance and insurance brokerage industries.

Janik sjanik@crain.comat(313)446-0455

Suzanne

Rogers, in his chief investment o cer role, says he wants to stay in “the stock-picking saddle” for an other decade but is signaling that he’ll step aside sooner as co-CEO, allowing Mellody Hobson, 53, also co-CEO, to “ultimately be CEO” someday. “ e exact timing has not been decided,” he says, ruling out a sale of the rm, which he says is pro table, or moving its Chicago headquarters closer to Hobson’s principal residence in San Fran cisco.Hobson’s pro le outside Ariel is even higher than Rogers’. Mar ried to lm producer and director George Lucas since 2013, she was elevated last year to non-executive chair of Starbucks, just in time for a time-consuming CEO switch and resistance to unionizing e orts at some of its stores that could hard ly have pleased Ariel’s union pen sion fund clients. is summer, she bought a piece of the NFL’s Denver Broncos.AtAriel, she’s tried to capture growth in the booming sector of exchange-traded funds, but after l ing with broker Charles Schwab last year to target socially and environ mentally responsible investments, Ariel has attracted only $11 million soAriel’sfar. overall assets under man agement have stagnated at about $16 billion as portfolio returns plummet. “Value” managers like Ariel tend to outperform growth stocks in choppy markets, and many have this year. But Ariel’s “slow and steady” mantra isn’t leading the race at the moment.

ARIEL

from Page 3

BLOOMBERG

Its agship Ariel Fund, with $2.6 billion in assets, is underperform ing its small/mid-cap category and broader indexes by a wide margin this year. e $1.1 billion Ariel Ap preciation Fund, oriented to midcap stocks, is faring almost as poorly year to date and now lags its category in 10-year results. Along with sepa rately managed accounts mimicking the strategies, the two funds account for about half of Ariel’s assets under management. Ariel’s international funds, managed out of New York, are performing better this year than the other funds, ranked as high as the 41st percentile, according to Morn ingstar.Ina memo to “friends of Ariel” last month, Rogers acknowledged the impact of recession fears on the small and midsize company stocks in Ariel’s portfolio. And in an inter view, he cited a history of not own ing commodity stocks as a factor in his funds’ performance, missing out on soaring commodity prices during the war in Ukraine. Ariel has been underrepresented in energy, another war-impacted sector, and overweight in others that have been hurt by the economic outlook.

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Ariel Investments sees funds caught in a slump

going forward.” Rogers, he says, is “used to navigating some of these market cycles, and that helps.”

OVERLAP

Hobson, who declined to com ment for this story, doesn’t exer cise control over Ariel’s investing decisions, but she does chair its publicly traded mutual funds and is responsible for the company’s management, strategic planning and growth. Outside of the rm, she chairs Chicago’s After School Mat ters and is vice chair of World Busi ness Chicago, co-chair of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los An geles, and a board member of the George Lucas Educational Foun dation and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. She’s a trustee of the Rockefeller Foundation and sits on the executive committee of the In vestment Company Institute. She’s also a director of JPMorgan Chase.

In 2018, Hobson told Fast Compa ny: “When I’m in San Francisco, on Sundays I do a whole list of calls. My rst is with John Rogers, both of our chiefs of sta , and a couple of assis tants, and we walk through the week that we just had and the week that is coming up. I’ve basically talked to John Rogers every day for 28 years, but Sunday is a very organized call, running through things that need follow-up. It could be as seemingly minor as a thank-you note to some one super-signi cant, or (maybe) he’s meeting someone and needs a brie ng document.”

A key challenge, PJM says, is replacing retired power sources with equally reliable substitutes. If such plants aren’t added in the Chicago area, electricity will have to be imported from other states. e math is daunting. Last year, northern Illinois power plants had the capacity to generate 26,443 megawatts, according to PJM. at was after the retirement of 2,250 megawatts of capacity in the region over the past ve years.

“I’ve got to tell you if I see a (de velopment) site in suburban Cook, I just stay away from it,” says apart ment developer Tony Rossi, presi dent of Itasca-based M&R Devel opment. “It’s just too damn hard to get an equity partner. I’d rather step over into DuPage County. e mar ket is just as good, and there’s more predictability on real estate taxes.”

a 308,000-square-foot industrial building in Elk Grove Village, just west of O’Hare International Airport—an especially hot market—at $35.9 million, more than triple its 2021 value.

be enough generation at nearly all times of the year to continue to re liably meet our customers’ needs without importing power from other regions,” ComEd spokes man Paul Elsberg says in an email. “While it’s possible there will be times in future years when some generation will need to be import ed to meet demand when it’s at its highest, this will depend on many factors—among them, how much solar energy, wind energy and bat tery storage is added to the power grid, and when.”

don’t hit those landlords directly, like they do with apartment own ers. Taxes can, however, factor into a company’s decision to expand in Cook County or move somewhere else.

New report highlights potential lack of power generation for Chicago region

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • S E PT EM BER 19, 2022 37

But that estimate may still be low: An investment fund managed by CBRE paid $71.3 million for the property last November.

Another concern is the poten tial impact on electricity rates in northern Illinois, which have been relatively low since the turn of the century, thanks largely to a surplus of in-state power genera tion. Rates may rise if the surplus disappears, squeezing local resi dents and businesses, and erod ing an economic advantage for the Chicago area.

PJM expects another 9,661 megawatts to shut down between now and 2030, according to its re port. Northern Illinois can expect to lose an additional 5,227 mega watts between 2031 and 2045, when CEJA bars the burning of any more fossil fuels for electricity.

POWER from Page 1

rises, but not as much as it does for other property owners, your taxes could actually decline. So even though the total residential assessed value in the nine north suburban townships increased 32.4%, homeowners could come out ahead because nonresidential assessments rose by even more.

e S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index for the Chica go area has risen about 28% since the beginning of 2020.

e market for commercial real estate is “a mixed bag,” Kaegi says. O ces, hotels and many retail properties have su ered since the pandemic.Butindustrial and apartment landlords have made out well the past few years, setting them selves up some for big assess ment hikes. e assessor valued

She notes the relative paucity of new natural gas plants seek ing approval throughout PJM’s multistate region. Wind and solar account for 95% of PJM’s devel opment queue.

without resorting to more fossil fuels is the evolution of battery technology. e ability to store electricity generated by intermit tent sources like wind and solar for longer than the four hours or so now available would clear the way to closing more plants that can turn on when needed regard less of weather.

Here’s

‘MIXED BAG’

rst three years, especially in Chi cago, hiking the total assessed val ue of all nonresidential property there by 77%. e assessor raised residential values, too, but not as much, so the disparity e ectively shifted more of the property tax burden onto landlords and away fromBrokershomeowners.andlandlords say Kaegi is a big reason many real estate in vestors are avoiding Cook County for now. ey don’t want to buy a property or nance a new devel opment in the county, worried that their taxes will jump, according to Kaegi’s critics.

“Right now,” the Board of Review is “the only hope that a lot of us folks have,” says Rossi, the apart ment developer.

“Our numbers are consistent and they’re well justi ed with the evidence; if anything, they’re a little bit conservative,” Kaegi says.

e big jump in north sub urban residential assessments makes sense given the strength of the local housing market since the beginning of the pandemic.

Yet landlords might not get the same results in the future: Two of the board’s three commissioners lost their primary election in June, and one of their challengers, Sa mantha Steele, is a Kaegi ally. If landlords want a break, they might not get it from her.

PJM notes that its estimates don’t include additions of wind and solar facilities under CEJA, which imposes surcharges on electric bills statewide to nance more renewable energy in Illinois. However, the analysis also doesn’t account for potential early clo sures of natural gas plants, the rst group of which must shutter by 2030 under the law.

Moreover, Kaegi’s o ce incor rectly assumed the COVID-19 pan demic would depress home values, so it cut residential assessments across the board by 8% to 12% in 2020. It was a controversial move that back red. e increase this year corrects that mistake.

e Pritzker administration, which adamantly opposes en treaties by Denzler and power generators to relax deadlines for future plant closures, dismisses PJM’s analysis.

It’s a fact that commercial land lords in Chicago and Illinois pay some of the highest property tax es in the nation, largely because the state relies so heavily on the real estate tax to fund public schools. A recent study by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and the Minnesota Center for Fis cal Excellence found that Chicago had the second-highest e ective property tax rate among the larg est cities in the 50 states last year. Only Detroit was higher.

was announced last month. Houston-based NRG Energy said that next year it will shutter the 1,381-megawatt natural gas pow er plant in Joliet, one of the largest such plants in the state.

But that’s less than half of what’s needed during peakdemand periods like the hottest days.

PJM forecasts the need for $2 billion in transmission-line im provements between now and 2045 in order to move power to Chicago from points east, as well as to stabilize voltage on the sys tem due to plant retirements. About $785 million of that $2 bil lion will be for projects in local

“ e administration nds this study incredibly myopic and is con dent that as we work to im plement the goals of CEJA over the next two decades there will be enough clean energy options for consumers and the grid—it’s ex actly why the bill incentivizes the production of clean energy and the market has already moved away from fossil fuel options on its own,” spokeswoman Jordan Abuddayeh says in an email.

If investors are avoiding Cook County, you won’t nd much ev idence in commercial property sales and prices, which have most ly held up in the county since Kaegi took o ce. But owners of o ce, industrial and retail properties typically pass along their proper ty taxes to tenants, so rising taxes

All involved in the debate ac knowledge that the main wild card in meeting the administra tion’s decarbonization timeline

KAEGI from Page 1

“We’ve moved jobs out of state, and we’ve subsidized fossil fuel plants out of state—with ratepay er dollars,” says Mark Denzler, president of the Illinois Manufac turers’ Association.

As much as they view Kaegi as the enemy, commercial landlords have a friend in the Board of Re view, a three-person panel where property owners can appeal their assessments if they think the as sessor has overshot. e board has consistently cut Kaegi’s assessed values on commercial properties over the past three years, providing some relief to landlords.

PJM further concludes that bil lions in spending on new and up graded power transmission lines will be required to bring power to Chicago from Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.“eIllinois fossil resource deactivations create the need to import a substantial amount of remote replacement power to serve load,” PJM says, using the industry term for power demand. e report on CEJA’s e ects, issued last month, underscores potential unanticipated conse quences of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s push to purge coal and natural gas from Illinois’ energy sector by 2045. For example, it’s possible that power sent to Illinois from other states will be generated by fossil fuel plants, creating ad ditional carbon emissions that would at least partially under mine the climate bene ts of clos ing such plants in Illinois.

Kaegi walloped commercial landlords with big increases in his

WILD CARDS

One such early retirement

Cook County uses assessments to calculate property taxes, but the math is complicated, and nal tax bills depend on other variables, including the levy, or the amount of revenue school districts, municipalities and oth er bodies need to collect through property taxes. A rising assess ment doesn’t always presage a tax increase.Akeyfactor is how much your assessment changes relative to ev eryone else’s. If your assessment

He’s been saying that ever since he started assessing county prop erties more than three years ago. It takes the assessor three years to value all 1.8 million parcels in the county, and Kaegi started with the northern suburbs in 2019, followed by western and southern Cook County in 2020 and the city of Chi cago last year.

assessor’s o ce.

“Based on the additional clean, renewable energy expected to come online as a result of CEJA and the amount of power nucle ar plants in northern Illinois can produce, we project that there will

During peak consumption both last year and so far this year, ComEd says it delivered about 21,000 megawatts. ComEd record ed its highest peak in 2011, when it had to provide 23,753 megawatts.

Another major gas-plant op erator in the area, LS Power, has said it’s likely to retire some of its plants before 2030. ose facilities are “peaker” plants, which operate only during the highest-demand periods of the year, but which cur rently are critical to meeting peak demand.Northern Illinois still has the largest collection of nuclear plants in the country, facilities that have grown in importance due to their reliability and lack of greenhouse emissions. Constellation Energy Group’s ve stations in the region generate up to 8,455 megawatts.

summer

4th year of higher assessments stokes anger, fear in local business community

the power-generation capacity hole the grid manager for the multistate region including northern Illinois estimates the region will have to fill due to fossil fuel plant retirements. POWER OUTAGE Source: PJM Interconnection THE SURPLUS/DEFICIT OF EXISTING POWER-GENERATION CAPACITY For northern Illinois based on an estimated peak power demand of 21,000 -10,000megawatts10,000megawatts5,000-5,000 2021 5,443 -4,218 -9,445 2030 2045

utility Commonwealth Edison’s northern Illinois territory and will be re ected in ComEd’s rates. e remainder will be in states to the east.Critics of CEJA say the report backs up their warnings as the law was hammered out last year. Hard deadlines for closing cer tain types of power plants takes away exibility to respond to de velopments in an economically volatile industry, they argue.

But Kaegi says he’s just calling it as he sees it, valuing properties accurately based on real market data and valid methods, unlike his predecessor, Joe Berrios, who was widely accused of lowballing com mercial property values.

“ e sun doesn’t shine 24 hours a day, and the wind doesn’t blow 24 hours a day,” Denzler says.

Kaegi’s o ce valued 1717, a 175unit apartment building in Evan ston, at $56.5 million, up 68%.

Critics of Kaegi, who was elect ed in 2018, accuse him of play ing favorites, deliberately trying to shift the property tax burden from homeowners to commer cial landlords, a cynical ploy to get re-elected this year. Kaegi won the Democratic primary in June and is expected to sail to a second term in the November general election.

In an email last week, Jim ompson, Cook County’s direc tor of property assessment and tax policy, said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s sta “continue to work with the sepa rately elected o cials to get the bills out as fast as possible.”

“It’s terrible” for homeowners to have to put extra funds into a holding account while the county works out its problems, said Sean Morrison, Cook County com missioner for the 17th District.

bill go into escrow for city sales, and 150% of last year’s gure for suburban Cook County sales. e idea is to be sure enough money is in there whenever the bill nally arrives.

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With home prices and interest rates rising, the increased escrow requirement “comes at a time when a lot of people are having more di culty (buying a home), and they have no recourse other than to pay it and hope” they get a good piece of the money back when tax bills nally get issued.

It’s not fair to the buyers and sellers involved “to keep them waiting for these govern ment bodies to do what they’re charged with doing,” Morrison said. e primary county bodies whose work goes into generating

Cwik said she has been recom mending that twice the amount of last year’s second installment

Without that, “there are pieces missing from the puzzle,” she said, which makes estimating the tax amounts due nearly impossible.

With some 5,000 homes sell ing in Cook County in July and August, it’s safe to say the parties to about 10,000 transactions so far have had to contend with this snag since bills were supposed to be issued.ereare other larger implica tions of this delay, including mu nicipal and school district taxing bodies being compelled to wait several months for their share of

tax bills are the county assessor and the board of review, which pointed ngers at one another for months, as Crain’s political col umnist Greg Hinz has reported.

e title company handles only the bill from the transaction year, so it has a one-time relationship with the buyer, Fogarty and Cwik said. us, unlike the mortgage lender that has an ongoing re lationship with the homeowner and can adjust escrow accounts with changes in the monthly bill, there’s only one chance to collect the money for this bill.

Cook County’s delayed property tax bills are creating home sale headaches

underwriting counsel at Chica go-based Proper Title, with the promise of refunding any over age later when the bill is paid.

In some cases, the uncertainty has sparked minor disputes be tween buyer and seller, Fogarty said. If the sellers don’t believe the bill will go up as much as the buyer’s representatives are esti mating, some have been asking to put the tax money in an es crow account in their name in stead, so any overage will come

at means buyers “have no choice but to put this money in at closing,” Cwik said. Any excess will come back in a refund when the dust settles, but at a time when prices and interest rates are delivering a double whammy to buyers, having “thousands of dol lars waiting on the county to send out its bills” adds to the buyer’s cash crunch, Fogarty said.

TAX BILLS from Page 3

Cook County B oard P resident Toni P reckwinkle’s staff will “continue to work with the separately elected officials to get the bills out as fast as possible,” said Jim Thompson, Cook County’s director of property assessment and tax policy.

For city transactions, there’s an extra layer of uncertainty, Cwik said. In the Cook County asses sor’s three-year rotating cycle of reassessment, Chicago home val ues were reassessed in 2021. e reassessed value “shows up in the second installment,” Cwik said.

tax revenue. But real estate trans actions can be mind-boggling in the array of numbers that appear at the closing table.

back to them.

MISSING PIECES

POINTING FINGERS

BOEHMR.JOHN

“ is house was lucky enough to survive the 1960s and the 1970s without being changed inside,” she says. “So it’s got a lot of its original features.” Among them are stained-glass windows and cabinet doors, extensive quarter-sawn birch trim that has never been painted and, seen at left in the photo at the top of this story, a stamped-leather wall covering and artful tile oor in the foyer.

Every change was made with an eye toward “staying close to the original look,” Todd Wyder says. e one place they broke that rule was in the backyard, where the couple added a 3,000-gallon koi pond with a waterfall and a bridge. While not a typical feature of Chicago’s historical bungalow belt, the sound and motion of the pond “chills you out immediately,” Todd Wy der says. And in that way, it contributes to the feeling that “this is a nice, warm place to come home to,” Tina Wyder says.

ey had found a bungalow that nobody ever bungled.

Fortunately, nobody ever bungled this bungalow

The couple who built on the intact vintage charms of the house in North Park were meticulously attentive to its era and style. Now they’re putting it on the market. Take a photo tour. I

After buying the house in early 2003, the Wyders did a lot of upgrades, modernizing the kitchen and baths, raising the roof to turn a semi-attic into living space, and enhancing the original look with such additions as the Arts & Crafts wallpaper board beneath the crown molding.

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS • S E PT EM BER 19, 2022 39 EDITORIAL 312-649-5200 CUSTOMER SERVICE 877-812-1590 ADVERTISING 312-649-5492 CLASSIFIED 312-659-0076 REPRINTS 212-210-0707 editor@chicagobusiness.com Vol. 45, No. 37 – Crain’s Chicago Business (ISSN 0149-6956) is published weekly, except for the rst week of July and the last week of December, at 130 E Randolph St , Suite 3200, Chicago, IL 60601 $3 50 a copy, $169 a year Outside the United States, add $50 a year for surface mail Periodicals postage paid at Chicago, Ill Postmaster: Send address changes to Crain’s Chicago Business, PO Box 433282, Palm Coast, FL 32143-9688 Four weeks’ notice required for change of address. © Entire contents copyright 2022 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. HOW TO CONTACT CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

ina Wyder grew up in a Chicago bungalow whose classic features had been stripped out of it and had seen many others in a simi lar state. So when she saw this one, on Bernard Avenue in North Park, when house hunting with her husband, Todd, in 2002, she un derstood what a rarity it was.

Now both retired—she from consulting and he from tech—the Wyders are planning to move to the Paci c Northwest. ey put the bungalow, ve bedrooms and roughly 4,200 square feet, on the mar ket Sept. 13. Priced at $749,900, it’s represented by Carmen and Tony Rodriguez of Coldwell Banker.

BY DENNIS RODKIN

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