Crain's Chicago Business

CRAIN’S LIST: The largest local hospital and health systems. PAGE 12

DEVELOPERS ADAPT TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Thanks to a new tax break from Spring eld, more residential builders nd they can set aside 20% of units and still make money I

BY ALBY GALLUN

Private-equity boom fades as lenders retreat

Buyout rms struggle

BY STEVE DANIELS

A year that began with hope the private-equity party would rage on has seen the festivities zzle out.

Years of rock-bottom interest rates, coupled with abundant cash from institutional investors, powered a long boom in dealmaking by private-equity rms, including several major players in Chicago. en came the Fed-

nance

eral Reserve’s war on ination.

As interest rates leapt more than 3 percentage points in the past six months, private-equity deals slowed to a trickle compared with the pace of recent years. Firms are struggling to nd banks and other lenders willing to nance deals, particularly the

multibillion-dollar transactions favored by rms like Chicago’s Madison Dearborn Partners and GTCR.

e landscape is unfamiliar, even to those who remember the 1980s. Veterans have experienced higher interest rates before, but haven’t seen rates rise so far so fast.

“I cannot recall as precipitous a change as is occurring right now,” says Bruce Hague, Chicago-based president of national commercial banking for CIBC U.S., who has worked on leveraged buyouts for decades. “I don’t think it’s done yet.”

e question now is how long the rate hikes will last, and whether they will dim the appeal of private equity to the university

endowments, pension funds and other institutional investors that furnish the funds for dealmaking.

e outsize investment returns that attracted investors to private equity depend heavily on plentiful cheap debt to nance buyouts. In a typical deal, the acquired company borrows at a substantial multiple of its annual cash ow to nance much of the purchase price. If all goes well over the next ve years, that company will grow

THE TAKEAWAY

This executive coach watched sitcoms to figure out ‘normal.’ PAGE 6

BOOTH INSIGHTS

When the ground beneath you shifts, learn to wobble well. PAGE 9

AS DEVELOPERS DRAW UP PLANS for thousands of new apartments in the West Loop, the neighborhood is emerging as a proving ground for Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s push to create more a ordable housing and solve one of Chicago’s most intractable problems: segregation. e early signs are encouraging.

In September, Chicago developer Sterling Bay broke ground on a 350-unit apartment tower in the Fulton Market District, with 20% of the total, or 70 units, set aside as a ordable to people with low or moderate incomes. Later that month, Chicagobased Golub and a partner unveiled plans for a 42-story project a block away. Twenty percent, or 80, of its 400 apartments will be a ordable.

Related Midwest’s 300-unit apartment tower at 900 W. Randolph St. will have 20% a ordable units on-site.

to

deals without the cheap, plentiful debt that fueled outsize returns

See

AFFORDABLE

Now comes the election Chicago really cares about

Now that the warm-up act— the 2022 general election— is over, Chicago can turn to the electoral contest that’s the only one it really cares about: the cattle call known as the race for mayor.

is one is going to be par ticularly tricky to follow, folks, given that incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot may not even be the fa vorite, much less the prohibitive one. So here are a few things to watch as candidate petition ling opens Nov. 21.

lawyers champing to knock out a signature because it excluded a middle name, had a super uous dot or two, or whatever—is amazingly tough. Ask Barack Obama: He got his start by knocking out then-state Sen. Alice Palmer on a technicality.

cial group, ideological soul mates or whatever, and leave citywide concerns to April.

GREG HINZ

e biggest immediate question is who actually will make it to the ballot. Declaring your candidacy is easy. Actually getting the minimum of 12,500 signatures from registered Chicago voters who haven’t signed another candidate’s petition—and getting them by the courtroom full of snapping

So, after moves by challenge-happy candidate Willie Wilson and others, let’s say a dozen names are left. en starts the rst of two campaigns: not the campaign for the April runo election, in which the winner will need 50% of the vote plus one for victory, but the campaign to make it through the initial February vote. Any candidate who can score 25% to 30% of the vote in the February round is a lock to make it to April, in my view. Twenty percent might make it, too. Which means that instead of appealing to a broad range of voters, some candidates may gure their best shot is to really rev up their part of town, ra-

at’s why the short-term fo cus is going to be on candidates lining up support from their natural base. It’s why the ght for the loyalty of progressive voters among U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, state Rep. Kam Buckner and others is so important. Ditto the debate in the African American commu nity about which of its sons and daughters will get most of its vote: Wilson, Lightfoot, Buckner, Ald. Sophia King, Ald. Roderick Sawyer, activist Ja’Mal Green and probably others—all ghting for what insiders say may be just 30% of the vote.

en there’s the North Side lakefront and adjacent wards, which tend to have a disproportionate in uence in mayorals. No lakefronter—physically or philosophically—has been in the race since Ald. Tom Tunney, former U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and U.S. Rep. Mike Quig-

ON POLITICS

ley backed o . Unless someone new appears at the last second, a good eight or nine wards will be up for grabs. ere’s reason to think Lightfoot’s base there has dwindled. Garcia could do well there. But so could former schools chief Paul Vallas, who could be a powerful factor if he can add the North Side to his natural base on the Northwest and Southwest sides.

Once we get to issues, the key questions, I suspect, will be crime and social equity, two matters that are intrinsically linked. Lightfoot is trying to hold the center, saying Chicago needs both a strong police presence and increased investment in job-creating ventures in long-shortchanged neighborhoods that breed crime. Vallas and probably

Ald. Ray Lopez will come at her from the law-and-order right, with progressives from the violence-reduction left.

Who holds the winning hand there? In New York’s recent mayoral election, former cop and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams was elected on a strong law-and-order platform that might not be too di erent from Vallas’. But in the Los Angeles election this month, progressive U.S. Rep. Karen Bass triumphed over the more conservative (and big-spending) businessman Rick Caruso.

Speaking of business, if Chicago’s once-muscular business community is going to get involved, it needs to get busy, or it may get both a hostile mayor and City Council. More on that later.

Housing costs could remain a major headwind

Rising mortgage rates and soaring rents across the country are cutting into housing a ordability. Given that housing costs make up the largest share of household expenditures, the lack of a ordable housing and housing instability are likely the most signi cant economic risks.

In the short run, rising housing costs could help push wages higher and add fuel to the in ation re. With in ation near a 40-year high, U.S. workers who take expectations of future in ation into account as they search for jobs and negotiate wages are likely to demand higher pay to retain their purchasing power, raising the risk of a wage-price spiral. A wage-price spiral would be a disastrous outcome for the U.S. economy. Luckily, there’s little evidence that in ation expectations are rising—at least for now.

Over the long run, higher housing costs—which are mostly due to supply constraints—prevent workers from moving to high-productivity cities and impede the ability of businesses in those cities to hire workers. is results in a misallocation of workers across U.S. cities, which lowers economic growth.

In Miami, New York and Los Angeles, the typical rent is now 54%, 48% and 43% of the median household income, respectively. At rst glance, Chicago may seem to have an advantage, as the typical rent is roughly 30% of the median household income. However, this is likely due to the city’s population woes as housing demand in Chicago lagged similarly large cities during the pandemic. But even so, Chicagoans have still tipped into being considered housing-cost burdened.

According to the Department of Housing & Urban Development, households that spend 30% to 50% of their income on housing are considered cost burdened and households that spend more than half of their income on housing are severely cost burdened.

Soaring housing costs also raise the risk of homelessness, and housing instability hurts everyone—not just those who are at risk of becoming homeless. Zillow research shows that homelessness rises faster where rent exceeds a third of income. Renters in a large number of major metropolitan areas across the country are already housing-cost burdened. ese are areas where the number of “at risk” renters has likely increased.

Sadly, more than two million U.S. households have an eviction case led against them each year. An increase in the number of evictions would worsen public health outcomes while at the same time reducing the size of the U.S. workforce and tax base, which makes supporting the most vulnerable even more di cult.

e good news: Rent growth is slowing. e bad news: Rents are still rising much faster than incomes. e Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI) pegs annual rent growth at 11% in September compared to just a 4.7% increase in hourly earnings. Growth in the consumer price index rent, which lags ZORI, also far exceeds income growth.

Luckily, there are organiza tions like Housing Connector that make it easier for property owners to take a chance on rent ers at the edge of the precipice. Housing Connector helps nego tiate leases and provides prop

erty owners with the assurances they need in order to make more housing units accessible to the most vulnerable renters. How ever, without an increase in new a ordable residential housing, housing a ordability is likely to remain a challenge.

Residential xed investment, which includes new construction, fell 26% this year—the largest pullback since the global nancial crisis. is is expected when interest rates increase and the

ORPHE DIVOUNGUY ON THE ECONOMY

cost of nancing new construction increases. Unfortunately, a persistent housing unit de cit could mean high housing costs will remain a major headwind for the U.S. economy.

Wintrust

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

THE KEY QUESTIONS, I SUSPECT, WILL BE CRIME AND SOCIAL EQUITY, TWO MATTERS THAT ARE INTRINSICALLY LINKED.

ALAMY

Chicago homeowners will carry property tax burden

It looked like owners of o ce, apartment and other properties would pick up more of the property tax tab this year. Now they won’t. Here’s why. I

BY ALBY GALLUN

JOE CAHILL ON BUSINESS

Warren Bu ett famously said, “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.”

Well, the tide is going out for private-equity rms as interest rates rise and stock markets sputter. Receding waters will reveal which rms genuinely add value and which have merely surfed a long wave of ideal conditions for leveraged buyouts.

Private-equity rms invariably attribute the outsized investment returns they’ve enjoyed for many years to their ability to improve the companies they acquire. ey portray themselves as rescuers of troubled businesses, bringing efciency, innovation and strategic insight to companies that need help.

Truth be told, the performance of private-equity investments owes relatively little to managerial acumen and strategic savvy. e real secret sauce has always been cheap debt and high equity values.

To make these deals pay, privateequity rms must do what they’ve always claimed to do—improve acquired companies.

A look at private equity’s track record suggests many rms will struggle to back up that claim. A study by researchers at California Polytechnic State University found that 20% of companies acquired in large leveraged buyouts go bankrupt within 10 years, compared with 2% of other big companies. Moody’s reports that private-equity-owned companies accounted for most loan defaults in the third quarter.

DEBT BURDENS

To a large degree, those numbers re ect the impact of leveraged buyouts on companynances. In a typical private-equity deal, the company itself borrows heavily to fund most of the acquisition. e borrowed money goes not to the company but to buy out the previous owners.

When Chicago property owners receive their tax bills in the coming days, homeowners might be disappointed while landlords can breathe a sigh of relief.

e property tax burden between residential and commer cial property owners in the city has shifted slightly in favor of landlords this year, a surprising result after Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi hiked as sessments on o ce, apartment and other commercial buildings last year. But so many landlords scored big reductions by appealing their assess ments that Chicago homeowners overall will actually carry more of the total city tax burden this year, 52.8%, than they did in 2021, 52.1%, ac cording to a report from the assessor’s o ce. Nonresidential property, meanwhile, makes up 47.2% of the city’s property tax base this year, down from 47.9% in 2021.

OF THE CITY’S TAX BURDEN, WITH NONRESIDENTIAL PROPERTY OWNERS CARRYING 47.2%.

Chicago trading firms will feel shock waves from FTX bankruptcy

of Business and an expert on nancial markets who has done research on cryptocurrencies.

Plentiful credit available at low interest rates enables privateequity rms to buy companies mostly with borrowed money, putting less equity at risk. at creates nancial leverage, turbo charging returns when rms cash out. A long stock market boom made those cashouts easy and lucrative.

With such favorable conditions, it’s no surprise that top-tier private-equity rms have routinely delivered annual returns of 20% or more to the retirement plans, university endowments and other institutional investors that bankroll their buyout funds.

As my colleague Steve Daniels reports, conditions have changed dramatically. e Federal Reserve is driving interest rates higher to tame in ation, while a tumbling stock market has all but closed to new o erings.

VOLUME PLUNGES

BY JOHN PLETZ AND STEVE DANIELS

It’s going to take a while to assess the damage from the collapse of cryptocurrency ex change FTX, which led for bankruptcy Nov. 11 and was then hit by an out ow of unau thorized withdrawals worth an estimated $477 million.

Cryptocurrencies took a hit in trading. But the bigger worry is whether the woes of FTX, which is based in the Bahamas, spread di rectly to Chicago trading rms and nancial exchanges, or whether the bankruptcy undermines con

dence in crypto and increases the likelihood that already-wary regulators will step in.

e turmoil in crypto could fuel volatility that bene ts trad ers and exchanges, such as CME Group, which reported record trading volume in crypto futures and options Nov. 15. Longer term, it could push investors to look toward regulated markets, which would bene t Chicago.

“ e risk in events like this collapse (of FTX) is it causes an erosion in trust in crypto, which is inherently fragile,” says Eric Budish, an economist at Univer sity of Chicago’s Booth School

“A lot of the blockchain idealism is about trust without the rule of law. is collapse is a reminder of the value of the rule of law.”

Two of Chicago’s largest trading rms, DRW and Jump Trading, have crypto-trading units. Chicago’s commodities exchange companies, CME Group and Cboe Global Mar kets, have dipped their toes in the crypto waters to varying de grees in recent years. Another Chicago company connected to cryptocurrency is CoinFlip, a fast-growing startup that oper ates bitcoin ATMs.

At the same time, lenders suddenly skittish about nancing highly leveraged deals are retreating from the multibilliondollar buyouts favored by major private-equity rms. Deal volume at local rms with buyout funds larger than $1 billion has plunged to 59 through October of this year, compared with 446 for all of 2021, according to Pitchbook.

To get deals done in this climate, private-equity rms will have to live up to the name and kick in a lot more equity. It’s already happening. Firms such as oma Bravo, which has o ces in Chicago and San Francisco, are starting to ink all-equity deals.

More equity means less leverage, and less leverage makes excess returns harder to come by.

So, the company gets a huge slug of debt, but no capital to invest in its business. Paying o buyout debt becomes priority No. 1, and interest payments siphon o cash that might have been invested in new prod ucts, factories, or other growth initiatives that could gener ate new revenues and pro ts. Interest payments pinch pro t margins and dilute cash ows, often triggering layo s and other cutbacks. e company becomes more vulnerable to business downturns, raising the risk of bankruptcy.

Healthy companies can fall ill quickly under such pressures.

Local examples include the Art Van furniture chain, which collapsed after taking on buyout debt in a private-equity deal. Grill maker Weber was doing ne until a recent sales slowdown made the debt from a buyout hard to handle, forcing privateequity backer BDT Capital to step in with an emergency loan.

Here’s the good news for pri vate equity. Buyout debt won’t be a problem for companies acquired in all-equity deals.

Firms will have a clean slate to demonstrate their managerial and strategic skills.

As equity-heavy deals mature, we’ll see which rms really know how to boost pro t margins and accelerate growth. ose improvements will have to be signi cant if rms are to match their historic performance. Generating market-beating returns from a capital base that’s all or mostly equity is a lot harder than goosing returns with leverage.

But that’s what private-equity rms will have to do to keep their investors coming back.

is is private equity’s chance to prove itself

DRW and

Jump

Trading, along

with

CME and Cboe, already are active players in cryptocurrencies

State Farm could see record auto insurance losses

Through the rst nine months of 2022, the Bloomington-based insurance giant’s main auto unit generated $8.6 billion in underwriting losses

BY STEVE DANIELS

e red ink is owing at State Farm.

e Bloomington-based insur ance giant’s auto unit posted a $5 billion loss through the rst nine months of 2022, ending Sept. 30, according to quarterly nancials obtained from the National As sociation of Insurance Commis sioners.

On an underwriting basis— assessing just claims and oper ational costs against premiums collected—State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance posted a loss of $8.6 billion.

At the same point in 2021, State Farm Mutual Auto had generated a net loss of $137 million on its way to a full-year $722 million loss.

e nation’s largest car insur er, State Farm is also by far the biggest money loser among the Big Four, which includes Chevy Chase, Md.-based Geico; May eld, Ohio-based Progressive; and Northbrook-based Allstate.

rough three quarters of 2022, Allstate’s auto insurance business generated more than $2 billion in underwriting loss es. Geico, the nation’s secondlargest car insurer, posted a $1.4 billion pretax underwriting loss through nine months.

Progressive has been the big insurer most able to navigate the high in ation and other negative trends that have upended the car insurance business. It generated a pretax underwriting pro t of $389 million on its auto insur ance business.

‘SNAPSHOT

IN TIME’

State Farm has the nancial wherewithal to absorb such mas sive losses. Its auto unit had $124 billion of surplus in hand as of Sept. 30, even after the net loss, according to the ling.

But the insurer appears to be on track to a potential record-setting year of losses. Its previous worst annual loss in suring cars was a $7 billion un derwriting hit in 2016. At $8.6 billion through Sept. 30, State Farm already exceeds that.

In an emailed statement, State Farm said it “continues to see impressive growth. e company plans to release its 2022 nancial results early next year. It is import ant to remember that in a busi ness as highly cyclical as ours, a snapshot in time does not provide a complete picture of a company’s long-term performance.”

Under CEO Michael Tipsord, State Farm has taken advantage of the unprecedented disrup

tion in the highly competitive auto insurance industry to grow at the expense of its main rivals. As a mutual insurer, technically owned by its policyholders, State Farm doesn’t face the same pres sure from shareholders that All state and Progressive do. Geico, a unit of publicly traded Berkshire Hathaway, run by Warren Bu ett, arguably answers more to the “Or acle of Omaha” than anyone else.

DAMAGES

Allstate is in the midst of un precedented rate hikes for auto policyholders in a bid to restore pro tability as soon as possi ble. Geico, too, has hiked rates substantially. State Farm’s rate increases have been more mea sured and it’s continued to ad vertise its prices aggressively on television, while Allstate and Ge ico have pulled back on adver

A $200 million parting gift for ComEd’s formula rate

BY STEVE DANIELS

In the end, Commonwealth Edison’s controversial formula rate exited the regulatory stage with a whimper, not a bang.

But not before ComEd ob tained approval from the Illinois Commerce Commission for a de livery rate hike just short of $200 million, to take e ect Jan. 1.

e regulators unanimously gave the go-ahead on Nov. 17 without a comment from Chair Carrie Zalewski or any of the three other sitting commissioners.

e increase was the thirdhighest since ComEd rst won the authority from the Legislature in 2011 to adjust its rates annu ally via a formula that took most of the ICC’s previous rate-setting

authority away. It brought the to tal revenue hike for ComEd via its delivery rates over the 12 years of formula rate-making to about $1 billion, or just over $83 million a year on average, according to ICC records.

ComEd pushed hard to ex tend the light-handed regula tory treatment for another de cade. But any hopes of that died when ComEd and former House Speaker Michael Madigan came under federal investigation for what the utility admitted in 2020 was a nearly decadelong brib ery scheme aimed at winning the speaker’s favor. Central to the beginning of that pattern of hiring Madigan associates for no- or low-work contracts was winning passage of the 2011 law

that kneecapped the ICC and es tablished the formula. Madigan pushed the law through over the veto of a fellow Democrat, then-Gov. Pat Quinn. Madigan, now retired, was indicted early this year on federal corruption charges and has pleaded not guilty.

POWER DYNAMICS

ComEd is preparing to le its rst rate-hike proposal early next year under a new regime created by Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Climate & Equitable Jobs Act, enacted last year. at will be a plan to set rates over the coming four years, the utility said.

is time, though, the com mission will have the authori ty the formula took away to set

tising as they worry more about pro tability than growth.

State Farm’s earned auto pre miums of $34.2 billion through Sept. 30 were up 10% from $31.2 billion in the same period the year before.

Surely exacerbating what al ready was a tough year was Hurricane Ian’s destruction in Florida in September. Unlike most hurricanes, which damage homes and other buildings more than other property, Ian’s oods totaled many cars. State Farm didn’t comment on the extent of its auto losses due to Ian.

Its direct unpaid losses in Flori da through nine months exceeded $2.9 billion. State Farm’s written premiums in the Sunshine State over that period were just $2.7 bil lion, according to the NAIC ling.

State Farm also is the largest insurer of homes in the U.S., and

that business has recovered from a tough 2021. State Farm Fire & Casualty, the company’s primary homeowners insurance unit, gen erated $357 million in underwrit ing income through three quar ters. During the same time last year, it had posted an underwrit ing loss of $1.8 billion, according to a ling obtained from the NAIC.

Overall net income at State Farm Fire & Casualty was more than $1 billion through nine months. In 2021, the unit gener ated $245 million in net income on the strength of a red-hot stock market that more than made up for the underwriting losses.

Together, State Farm Mutual Auto and State Farm Fire gen erated $4 billion in net losses through Sept. 30 of this year, sig naling a potential multibilliondollar loss for the company as a whole when the year is done.

allowed returns and will have in put into what investments in the local power grid are needed and what are not. By this time next year, when the ICC rules on that four-year plan, there’s apt to be far more drama than in the rote proceeding on Nov. 17.

With the new setup, ComEd isn’t likely to propose rates that will change the revenue dy namic established in the one just ending. Its capital spending budgets—the size of which gen erally determine the future direc tion of rates—are even more am bitious than they were during the formula era, according to inves

tor disclosures by Chicago-based parent Exelon.

“ ese plans will provide the foundation for a grid that is re silient, exible, and intelligent to withstand more frequent and severe weather due to climate change and enable technolo gies like solar, battery storage and eets of electric vehicles,” ComEd CEO Gil Quiniones said in a release earlier this month.

In the meantime, this last for mula rate hike, just approved, will cost the average household in ComEd’s vast northern Illinois territory an extra $2.20 a month on their monthly electric bill.

The ICC unceremoniously ushered through the last of the utility’s “automatic” yearly rate changes with the controversial rate-setting system set to expire

11/11

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Help Us Create a Refuge for Young People Experiencing Homelessness

Covenant House Illinois is developing a new campus in Chicago’s East Gar field Park communit y. The campus will provide shelter and comprehensive support services to young people ages 18 to 24 facing homelessness, human traf ficking, domestic violence, antiLGBTQ discrimination and other forms of trauma.

We have finished construction on two of three floors but need your help to complete the campus by mid-2023 To learn about giving opportunities, please contact Johnpaul Hi ins, Director of Development, jhi ins@ covenanthouse.org or 312.759.7881.

“Covenant House Illinois welcomed me with open arms, treated me with respect, but most importantly they showed me something I longed for and that was LOVE!”

Jody Michael

Michael, one of the rst female traders on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 1982, is the founder of 25-year-old Jody Michael Associates, an executive coaching rm based in Chicago with clients among the For tune 100. Recently she published “Leading Lightly,” a Wall Street Journal bestseller. Michael, 65, and her wife divide their time between homes in Ravenswood and Palm Springs, Calif. I

By Laura Bianchi

Describe your childhood. My mother was wrongly institutionalized when I was 18 months old. My father was abusive and struggled with alcoholic addiction. Since home life was less than ideal, I immersed myself in excelling in school and sports.

Was

there an upside to your

childhood?

Given the abusive environment I grew up in, I became hypervigilant, an acute observer of others. I built empathy, emotional intelligence and resilience. Now I coach those skills to my clients.

A success story?

One client asked me to help her get a new job because she was expected to top her $1 million in sales the following year and she didn’t think she could. I convinced her that I could coach her to reach that goal, and she ended up selling $10 million the next year.

Your “aha” moment?

At 6 or 7, I remember think ing, “I’m screwed. I need to raise myself or I’m not go ing to be OK.” I don’t know how I knew that. I had no role models at home, so I began studying TV shows such as “Eight Is Enough” to learn what “normal” was. Family sitcoms became my North Star.

Biggest mistake execs make?

Investing too much time being externally focused, becoming a subjectmatter expert. The biggest return is working from the inside out, identifying blind spots and habits that cause stress, pain and ine ectiveness, and overcoming those.

Worst job ever?

Preschool worker during college. I quit after one day. There were far too many kids per worker, tugging at you. It broke my heart.

Your favorite tech?

The Muse headband. It makes your brain learn to meditate faster than any other.

On what do you splurge?

I love to design serene environments with art, furniture and beautiful things.

An example?

My wife and I bought a magni cent, 25-ton boulder for our Palm Springs home. We had it artistically cut by a stone sculptor and installed at the end of our pool. It’s a gorgeous piece of God’s art.

Any hair-raising experiences?

None. But my house almost burned down about ve years ago while I was away. The roofers had used a blowtorch on a wood house and it caught re just after I had completely renovated it. All the TV networks showed up. I spent nine months redoing it.

And that’s not hair-raising?

When there is high stress, I’m totally Te on. My childhood trained me to believe, “You’re going to be all right.”

Want Sinatra’s booth at Gene & Georgetti?

It’ll cost you—and restaurants now have the technology to take your extra cash

BY ALLY MAROTTI

Want to sit in Frank Sinatra’s booth at River North steakhouse Gene & Georgetti? How about se curing a window seat at Roka Akor for your next date night? Pay a little extra, and now you can guarantee it.

Several Chicago restaurants are integrating new technology into their websites that lets diners pay extra to choose their seat. e com pany that makes the technology, Tablz, uses data to help the restau rant decide how much to charge for certain tables during prime dinner times. For restaurants struggling to o set rising costs from in ation, the technology is a welcome new revenue stream.

“It’s like straight cash to the bot tom line,” said Rob Holder, director of procurement for the company that owns and operates Roka Akor in River North. e Japanese steak house rst started using Tablz at its San Francisco location about two years ago and rolled it out in Chicago in October. Already, the restaurant’s two-person, oor-toceiling window seats have arisen as the most popular.

Holder said he expects Tablz to bring in an extra $5,000 during its rst year at the Chicago location, but sees the potential for that to double.

“You’re talking about tables you already have, seats you already have, and before the reservation even comes in, they’ve paid for

that spot,” he said. “ at person knows exactly what they’re getting, and they’re happy to pay a little bit of a premium.”

Tablz co-founder and CEO Fraz er Nagy says his company’s tech nology lets restaurants charge for premium seats the way airlines and concert venues do. Restau rants only put a fraction of their available tables on the platform— not every table can be the most desirable table, after all—which makes it optional for diners. And it doesn’t ru e consumer’s feath ers too much because they’re used to paying a bit more if they want something extra, he said.

“I don’t get angry at Delta that they have rst class,” Nagy said. “I don’t get angry at the Bulls that they have courtside tickets. e whole economy has been built around personalized behavior and restaurants are just the last ones to (o er) that.”

CELEBRITY TIES

Gene & Georgetti, which recent ly launched Tablz, only allows din ers to pay extra for the two booths in the back of its dining room: e Frank Sinatra Booth and the VIP Booth. Many a celebrity has dined in the VIP Booth, including Fleet wood Mac, Will Ferrell, Tom Jones, Jack Lemmon and Vince Vaughn. e other booth “was always Frank’s,” said Michelle Durpetti, third-generation owner of the 82-year-old restaurant.

Durpetti said diners frequently

Wintrust to buy Rothschild’s U.S. money management unit

BY STEVE DANIELS

Wintrust Financial has a deal to acquire the U.S. asset-management arm of European investment rm Rothschild.

e pending acquisition, an nounced Nov. 17, will add about $8 billion in assets under management to Wintrust-owned Great Lakes Ad visors, bringing Great Lakes’ assets to about $18.5 billion. Overall, Win trust’s wealth-management unit will have more than $40 billion under management after the deal closes, which is expected early next year.

e deal came together after Win trust approached Rothschild, Tom Zidar, chaiman and CEO of Wintrust Wealth Management, said in an in terview. e European rm, with dual o ces in London and Paris, already had made known it didn’t view its U.S. asset-management business as strategic, Zidar said.

And Wintrust had familiarity with Rothschild’s U.S. unit, having hired a former executive, Dan Oshinskie, as chief investment o cer for fun damental equity strategies at Great Lakes Advisors a few years ago, Zi dar said.

“He’s hired most of the people there,” Zidar said. “We really have a good sense for what we’re buying.”

Terms weren’t disclosed.

Wintrust will retain the Rothschild unit’s Stamford, Conn., headquar ters. at will give Wintrust Wealth Management a presence in the New York area, as well as its present loca tions in Tampa, Fla., and Chicago.

With more than $50 billion in as sets, Rosemont-based Wintrust is the largest commercial bank still based in the Chicago area. Over the past 15 years, it’s grown via many acquisitions of community banks. Over the last three years, Wintrust’s growth has been primarily organic. is marks Wintrust’s rst acqui sition of 2022. Last year, it made a single deal, acquiring Northbrookbased insurance giant Allstate’s business that lends to Allstate agents around the country.

e Rothschild purchase is Win trust’s largest in the wealth-man agement arena since 2002 when it bought brokerage Wayne Hummer. at business is now branded as Wintrust. e buyout of Great Lakes Advisors occurred in 2011, and Wintrust held onto the Great Lakes name.

Wintrust is best known as a busi ness lender and retail bank, but the Rothschild deal looks like it will vault the bank into the top 20 of money managers in the Chicago region.

request to be seated in one of the booths. Now, when they make a reservation via the restaurant’s website, they can see a video tour of the dining room and choose to pay extra to sit there.

e cost varies depending on the time. For example, sitting at ei ther booth for an 8 p.m. dinner on Friday, Dec. 2, will cost $25. It’s $20 for 6 p.m. seating, and any seating before 5:30 p.m. does not require additional payment. Holder from Roka Akor said he has seen an un intended consequence from the sliding cost scale: Diners are opt ing to eat earlier, lling those hardto- ll dinner spots.

Durpetti compared Tablz to the old-school practice of slipping the host a $20 to get seated at a good table. Except in this case, the mon ey goes to the restaurant instead of the host, she said.

“What’s important for me as the third generation of Gene and Georgetti’s is that we continue to seek out ways to evolve the restau rant without necessarily funda mentally changing who we are,” she said. “Because this is sort of an age-old practice that’s just in newage technology, it felt right for us.”

Adding a new revenue stream doesn’t hurt, either, she said.

Restaurants that survived the pandemic see alternative revenue streams as a lifeline. When indoor dining was forced to close in 2020 and 2021, many rolled out to-go ordering, meal kits, retail opera tions and other o erings to try to

bring in enough money to pay the bills. Many have hung onto those revenue streams even as the world reopened.

Gene & Georgetti, for example, sells steak boxes for people to give as gifts and shifted its menu to fo cus more on Italian dishes over steaks as the cost of beef has sky rocketed. Margins are notoriously low in the business, too. e av erage restaurant makes 3% to 5% pro t, according to the National Restaurant Association. In other words, 95 to 97 cents of every dol lar that comes in goes back into product, labor and other operating costs.

In ation has also hit restaurants hard, and many have increased menu prices. e cost of food at restaurants was up 8.6% from the year prior, according to the Con sumer Price Index.

However, in ation could make

it harder for Tablz to gain traction among consumers as they try to cut back on dinner costs, said Dar ren Tristano, CEO of research and consulting rm Foodservice Re sults. Already, the technology ca ters to a smaller niche of high-end, sit-down restaurants.

“As you drill down into it, it’s ne-dining, busy restaurants on special occasions with a uent customers willing to pay,” he said. “ e market for this is very low.”

Tablz’s technology is free for restaurants to integrate into their website. e company takes 30% of each fee a customer pays to re serve their choice table. Nagy said some of the restaurants using Tablz make between $10,000 to $75,000 in additional annual revenue.

To reserve a speci c table, cus tomers pay between $5 and $100, he said. “We think that will go far ther.”

Our approach to service is a smarter way to work that is predictable, ef cient and aligned with client goals.

Roka Akor in River North

Convert these condos to apartments? Not so fast.

Some unit owners in a big complex next to the Edens Expressway have asked the Skokie Village Board to intervene in a brouhaha over an investor’s plan

BY ALBY GALLUN

An investor that wants to convert 175 condominiums in a big Skokie housing complex into apartments is facing resistance from some of the property’s residents, who have appealed to a higher power for help: the Skokie Village Board.

e board is poised to vote Nov. 21 on a proposal to make it hard er for investors to pull o condo deconversions. e deals have be come popular amid a strong apart ment market the past several years, but they can be controversial: Not every condo owner wants to sell, but holdouts can be forced to un der current state law.

In Skokie, Trilogy Real Estate Group plans to buy out all 277 units in one of three towers in the Optima Old Orchard condo complex on the west side of the Edens Expressway. Under Illinois condo law, a single investor can take over an entire condo build ing only if owners of 75% of the property agree to a bulk sale of the property.

But a group of residents in the Optima development who op pose the sale are pressing the village board to increase that threshold to at least 85%, hoping it might foil Trilogy’s plans. If the village board approves a propos al to raise the bar, it would fol low the path of the Chicago City Council, which passed an 85% requirement for deconversions in the city three years ago.

Leading the charge in Skokie is

Rabbi Ralph Ruebner, who lives in the tower and has spoken pas sionately at recent board meet ings. He calls Trilogy’s buyout a “hostile takeover” and argues that it would result in many el derly and vulnerable residents losing their homes in the build ing, known as Maple Tower.

“If Maple goes, it will be open season and open the oodgates to many other buildings,” Ruebner told the board at a recent meeting.

PUSHBACK

Flare-ups over deconversions have become common in the city over the past several years amid a sluggish condo market and siz zling apartment market. Devel opers have approached condo boards with generous buyout of fers, betting they can pro t from the big spread between condo values and apartment values. e deals are hard to refuse for many condo owners because the de velopers typically o er so much more than a condo would fetch in a traditional sale.

Others won’t sell regardless of price. e reasons vary. Some re fuse out of an emotional attach ment to their condo. Others worry that they won’t be able to nd a comparable new place to live near by at a reasonable cost.

A small group of owners at a 51-story tower in River North have even gone to court to block a $190 million buyout o er approved by nearly 90% of the building’s own ership last year. It would be the

biggest deconversion in the city, but the buyer is having a hard time lining up nancing to complete it.

Trilogy only wants to deconvert one of three towers at Optima Old Orchard, a 660-unit development completed after the condo crash. In 2016, Trilogy paid $44.2 mil lion for 172 unsold condos in Ma ple Tower, at 9725 Woods Drive, with the plan to rent them out for a while and possibly sell them individually as the condo market rebounded.

But the market never recovered enough, and apartment rents and values continued to climb. So Tril ogy decided to buy out the rest of the tower and reconstitute it as a pure apartment building. Trilogy’s plans don’t involve the other two Optima Towers, which operate as condo properties governed by sep arate condo boards.

“ e reality is that the property has been rentals for the past de cade,” said Jesse Karasik, Trilogy’s chief investment o cer. “If we don’t convert it, somebody else will.”

BOARD CONTROL

Trilogy controls the tower’s con do board because it owned about 61% of the building when it oated the deconversion idea with resi dents a few months ago. Its stake has increased since then, because multiple owners in the building have agreed to sell their units to Trilogy in recent weeks.

“Every week, there are another two or three who come to us who

want to sell,” Karasik said.

Simply because Trilogy owns so much of the building, it’s al ready very close to hitting the 75% threshold for a buyout of the entire property. Owners of another 30 condos rent their units out rather than occupying them. at could work in Trilogy’s favor, because in vestors who rent their condos typ ically support deconversion deals, depending on the price.

So Karasik is con dent that a proposed bulk sale of the tower would go through, even if the vil lage hikes the voting requirement to 85%. But Trilogy has not made a formal o er for the building, and Karasik declined to say how much it would be willing to pay.

“We are full steam ahead to some extent,” Karasik said. “How ever, we’re waiting for a response from the city.”

Karasik did say that Trilogy would o er Optima owners a pre mium for their condos over what

they would receive in a regular single-unit sale. In its recent condo purchases, Trilogy has agreed to pay about 10% to 15% over current market prices, he said.

is year, Maple Tower units have sold for as little as $194,000 and as much as $600,000, accord ing to Zillow.

Yet to Rabbi Rueben and oth er opponents of Trilogy’s buyout plan, the whole process stinks. Rueben argues the three-person Maple Tower condo board is taint ed by a con ict of interest because two Trilogy representatives sit on the board and the company is both buyer and seller. To address con ict-of-interest concerns, the board appointed the non-Trilogy member to oversee the sale pro cess.

e opponents are pushing the village board to approve a new 85% threshold for the village.

e trustees will consider the de conversion proposal on Nov. 21.

European investor plans Loop apartment conversion

BY DANNY ECKER

e foreign investor that bought part of a vintage Loop o ce build ing in June has now acquired the rest of it, which it plans to turn into roughly 100 apartments as demand for downtown residential units soars.

A high-net-worth European family advised by Swiss invest ment rm 4c AG paid $8.2 million last month for the upper half of the 14-story building at 79 W. Monroe St., according to sources familiar with the deal. e purchase from Chicago developer R2 came rough ly four months after the same buy er paid $40.5 million for the lower half, which is almost fully leased to a school and a Walgreens location.

R2 had marketed the roughly 80,000-square-foot block of space on oors eight through 14 in the building as an apartment conver sion opportunity amid weak de mand for downtown o ces and record-high downtown apart ment rents. Now the buyer plans to execute that vision, betting that

the center of the Loop is poised to become more of a mixed-use neighborhood as e ects of the COVID-19 pandemic fade.

e project would be in line with a new initiative from Mayor Lori Lightfoot to incentivize the con version of outmoded o ce build ings on and near LaSalle Street into apartments. City o cials are dangling public subsidies to help nance such projects—and ensure they include a ordable units— counting on redevelopments to help restore vibrancy in the heart of the central business district where many companies have decamped and where the rise of remote work has decimated daily foot tra c.

“ e asset will be a perfect t for people working in hybrid models and will contribute to the revamp of the Loop according to the path envisaged by the city of Chicago,” a 4c spokesman said in a statement.

R2 Principal Jason Trailov said the buyer has retained R2 as a third-party manager and adviser to help with the partial redevel opment of the Bell Federal Sav

ings & Loan building, which is known for its Weather Bell sign hanging over the corner of Mon roe and Clark streets that changes color as it predicts temperature changes. Timing of the project is unclear, but there are a series of small tenants in the space today that would need to move out or be relocated to begin work.

Trailov said he anticipates build ing out close to 100 units and that the property’s zoning allows res idential use, but the plan may be subject to City Council approval based on the scope of the project and if the buyer looks to tap any public nancing or tax credit pro grams. Such incentives are often used to redevelop older buildings, projects that are frequently fraught with unforeseen costs.

R2’s continued involvement in the property “demonstrates where we see this asset ultimately going, and tting into what will hopeful ly be a more vibrant, 24-7 central business district,” Trailov said.

Income from the lower portion of the building may also help

nance the redevelopment above. e property generated $843,000 in net cash ow in 2021, accord ing to a Bloomberg report tied to R2’s previous loan on the build ing. e loan was packaged with other mortgages and sold o to commercial mortgage-backed se curities investors, making much of the building’s nancial perfor mance data publicly available.

CASHING OUT

e vast majority of the prop erty’s income comes from a Wal greens rst- oor lease that has close to eight years remaining, as well as a 77,000-square-foot lease on oors two through six with In trinsic Schools that runs through 2045. e school is locked into the lease through its rst termi nation option at the end of 2030, according to Cook County prop erty records.

e sale of the upper oors completes a cash-out for R2 on a building it bought in 2018 with a plan to ll it up with o ce us ers. An R2 venture paid about $25 million for the leasehold interest in the property at a time when de mand for downtown o ce space was booming. e developer

signed a lease extension with Walgreens and inked the lease with Intrinsic Schools, paying an undisclosed amount on leasing commissions and to help build out the school’s space.

e developer paid $6 mil lion later that year to purchase the ground beneath the building, which was owned separately by a venture of Skokie-based real estate investor David Friedman, property records show. R2 then re nanced the building in March 2020 with the $38.6 million CMBS loan, ac cording to public records.

en came the pandemic. e building’s net cash ow last year was 42% below R2’s debt service for the year, according to Bloomberg loan data. With roughly a third of the building vacant and downtown o ce leasing prospects soft, R2 opted to subdivide the school and Walgreens spaces from the rest of the building and sell them o .

R2 CEO Matt Garrison said in July that his rm’s full investment in the property was less than the $40.5 million sale price for the low er portion of the building, though he declined to disclose the speci c total. Cook County records show R2 paid o its mortgage in July.

Optima Old Orchard condo complex at 9725 Woods Drive in Skokie. COSTAR GROUP

When the ground beneath you shifts, learn to wobble well

Over the years, I’ve chat ted with numerous wom en who seem to have it all gured out—successful careers, happy families and ful lling per sonal lives. But these women— entrepreneurs, working profes sionals, MBA students and recent stay-at-home moms—have almost all, at some point, battled really tough issues: depression, divorce, professional setbacks, death of a loved one, sometimes simulta neously. As the ground beneath their feet shifted, they often felt like they could barely keep up. But while some of these women got sucked into impasse, others didn’t seem to miss a beat. It made me realize, when the ground buckled beneath them, there were wom en who wobbled and there were women who wobbled well.

Wobbling well is crucial for en trepreneurs and small business owners. Often, things won’t go your way. When I was CEO of Oars + Alps, a company I co-founded, and raising four young children (I have ve now), I learned to not aim for balance or steadiness, but to be more accepting with the perpetual shakiness under my feet. Shoot

ing for balance and resiliency was exhausting—it meant directing all energy to restore equilibrium, to achieve perfection in proportion. Learning to wobble well was less draining and is for those moments when you just can’t operate at your best.

I have identi ed ve traits of good wobblers. While my observa tions are drawn mostly from con versations with women (because they tend to come to me for advice), the lessons are applicable to all.

 Agile numbness. Often when un fortunate things happen, we react with a range of emotions—anger, sadness, denial, fear—and those are appropriate. But what if the response is one of equanimity, or what I call ‘agile numbness?’ When you learn how to turn numbness on and o , it allows you to have the evenness of temper to approach bad events with full acceptance, understanding and patience.

 Comfortable managing chaos. Chaos and stress are two di erent things. Stress is the outcome of chaos. People who are comfort able managing chaos are e cient

at triaging turmoil into what’s im portant and time sensitive, which can actually minimize stress.

 Multi-tethered. Good wobblers don’t have their whole world teth

ered to one pole. It’s not just to their family, job or hobby. ey have lots of poles and can manage the un raveling of a given line, as long as some of the others are holding.

 Reframing the struggle. Em bracing struggle allows you to see it from a di erent perspective. Change becomes an opportuni ty, not a threat. Accepting change means you don’t always have the answers and there is no guaran teed outcome. Rather than cause despair, it presents an opportunity to adapt and grow.

 Vocalize vulnerabilities. I’ve seen countless people who have lost a child, been laid o , strug gled with child care, etc., share their stories freely and openly.

ey share failures as well as cel ebratory moments with friends, colleagues, family, therapists and even social media. In doing so, they create connections with oth ers—a support system that is there for them during their wobbliest moments.

e whole concept of “wob bling well” means that you walk with the rhythm of the wobble, no matter how unpredictable it might appear. And you don’t just move with it, you ow through it with humility and acceptance. So the next time you feel social pressure to snap out of it and “be resilient,” consider whether you need to bounce back to move forward—or if owning the wobbliness makes for a smoother path in your per sonal and professional life.

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

GETTY IMAGES

Mia Saini Duchnowski is cofounder of Oars + Alps and an entrepreneur-in-residence at the UChicago Booth School of Busi ness’ Polsky Center for Entrepre neurship and Innovation.

Filling vacant lots is a step in the right direction

It’s tough to build community—a sense of neighborhood, a feeling of belong ing and stability, an atmosphere of purpose and safety—when your block, your street and your ward are pockmarked with vacant lots. And yet, that’s just one of the challenges that’s burdened entire swaths of the city’s West and South sides for decades now. ose of us who don’t live in, say, Gar eld Park or Englewood or Lawndale may wonder why, 50-plus years after the 1968 riots that are so often blamed for the problem, there are so many aban doned lots still marring the landscape.

e root causes are varied, of course. White ight and subsequent “blockbust ing”—the practice of persuading owners to sell cheaply because of the fear of “oth ers” moving in nearby, and thus pro ting by reselling at a higher price—was cer tainly a factor. e years of neglect and disinvestment that followed are also part of the story, as is the history of abandon ment and insurance fraud-inspired arson, which reached such a pitch in the mid1970s that the Illinois General Assembly commissioned an eye-opening report on the trend in 1978.

As any South or West side alderman, beat cop or community activist will tell you, vacant lots and abandoned buildings are a magnet for crime. ey undercut the cohesion of the neighborhood. And, by limiting the number of people who actual ly live on a given block and call a neighbor hood home, they undercut the atmosphere of community that any region must have in order to feel like a good place to live, raise kids and even run a business.

So it’s gratifying to see a renewed ef fort to help Chicagoans ll in the gaps scattered throughout the South and West sides. As Crain’s Dennis Rodkin reports, City Hall has opened a new express lane to the development of housing in these areas, o ering up the rst round of 2,000 parcels at rock-bottom prices in an e ort to spur investment and bring more people back to these communities. As Maurice Cox, city commissioner of planning and develop ment, told the Chicago Sun-Times, a major goal of the program is to reverse the exo dus of Black households from the city. us, the program is, quite appropriately,

called “Come Home,” and the Lightfoot administration is touting it as a residen tial complement to its commercial-driven Invest South-West initiative.

e 2,000 lots now listed on a new web site called ChiBlockBuilder represent about one- fth of the city’s total holdings. e great majority of them originally held homes, whether houses or two- or threeats. e e ort builds on previous e orts at residential in- ll, though previous programs were generally a pretty scattershot a air and generally moved properties one at a time. All those existing programs have been rolled up into “Come Home” and streamlined.

YOUR VIEW

Before being listed on the ChiBlock Builder website, every lot has had an en vironmental assessment and an indepen dent appraisal. In the past, “that’s work you’d wait six or eight months for,” says the City Hall o cial overseeing the program, Kathleen Dickhut.

Each lot is listed with a market value that is speci c to its micro market, Dick hut explains. Buyers who live adjacent to a property may qualify to pay one-tenth the market value. As an example, Rodkin explored the ChiBlockBuilder website and pulled up a lot on the 200 block of East 50th Street in the Grand Boulevard neigh borhood. e city website lists its market value at $27,750. e price drops to $2,775 for a quali ed buyer—an adjacent neigh bor or community group.

By putting the lots up for sale with two major pieces of work—the environ mental assessment and the appraisal— already done, the city is following the path of the Cook County Land Bank Authority, launched in 2013. e Land Bank strips red tape, such as tax liens and uncertainty in the title, o foreclosed buildings and land before re-selling them to rehabbers and developers, clearing the path to redevelopment.

Bringing residents back to areas like South Shore, Auburn Gresham and Aus tin will be a key test of whether Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s signature Invest South/ West program is living up to its neighbor hood-building goals. Paving the way for the people already living there to invest in their own blocks seems like a very good place to start.

Megamerger leaves consumers holding the bag

My local Jewel is being remodeled, and that’s turning everyday shop ping trips into treasure hunts.

Customers wander around searching for their favorite snacks, canned goods, beverages and other food supplies—items that have been moved from their longtime in-store locales to dif ferent aisles and shelves. On a recent visit, one fellow muttered to me, “Everything’s changed,” as we both looked for bottled iced tea, which turned up a couple of rows from where it used to be.

e makeover of one store is no big deal, but it got me think ing about the greater tumult that awaits weary shoppers should federal regulators approve the $24.6 bil lion merger between supermarket titans Albertsons—owner of what we locals call “ e Jewel” and other regional chains— and Kroger.

at’s because when it comes to the consumers’ best interest, especially those in the Chicago area, this deal fails to pass

the smell test. Actually, it stinks like three-day-old sh, and I’m not sure much can be done to tamp down the odor.

e Chicago region is already home to two of these companies’ biggest players: Jewel-Osco’s 188 stores and Kroger-owned Maria no’s 44 emporiums. (Kroger also has 10 Food 4 Less locations in Illinois.) Right now, that’s called competition.

Yet if this proposed agree ment is approved, that rivalry goes away, leaving in its place a supermarket behemoth with a stranglehold on the local food store scene. e likely result: depressed competition, higher food prices, fewer choices and whatever other consumer abuses occur when a company or cartel accrues too much market clout.

Need an example? How about the consolidated, often-dysfunctional airline industry.

To blunt the rising concerns of law makers, unions and consumer activists,

the acquisitive Kroger may agree to water down its market concentration here by spinning o or shuttering Jewel or Maria no’s outlets, say industry experts.

(By the way, this proposed merger— which will total nearly 5,000 supermarkets nationwide if approved—faces similar antitrust dilemmas in other parts of the country, including Ohio, Texas and the West Coast. Both companies have agreed to spin o up to 650 stores.)

But divestiture won’t save the day for our area’s grocery shoppers. It probably will make it worse.

ECONOMIC SETBACKS

Crain’s recently posted an illuminating map of Jewel-Osco and Mariano’s sites throughout the Chicago market; it shows both chains with a high concentration of outlets in the city and adjoining suburbs.

Ask yourself: Who gets hurt if scores of these stores merge or go away?

Common sense would dictate it’s the area’s working- and middle-class neigh borhoods that would get clobbered. ese are bread-and-butter communities that can ill-a ord to have full-service food

Write us: Crain’s welcomes responses from readers. Letters should be as brief as possible and may be edited.Send letters to Crain’s Chicago Business, 130 E. Randolph St., Suite 3200, Chicago, IL 60601, or email us at letters@chicagobusiness.com. Please include your full name, the city from which you’re writing and a phone number for fact-checking purposes.

shopping venues vanish or become so inconveniently far away that thousands of residents end up spending inordinate amounts of time and money just to pick up a couple bags of groceries.

en there’s the economic setbacks su ered from local food store closures. In 2013, Dominick’s shuttered its 72 stores, and it took years for some suburbs and city neighborhoods to rebound from that exodus, including the time and resources spent dealing with the vacant buildings left behind.

Moreover, when more of our civic and business focus should be on solving the food insecurity crisis rippling through underserved communities—especially on Chicago’s South and West sides—this mammoth deal should address that con cern more aggressively.

How about making it a priority of any government approval?

at’s not such a stretch. Back in the day, banks and nancial institutions couldn’t merge unless they provided some type of community reinvestment, usually in low-income and under-banked communities. ey often accomplished

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Robert Reed is a veteran Chicago journalist who contributes to Chicago mag azine. He is a former editor of Crain’s Chicago Business.

this by supporting low-cost mortgages and easier access to checking or savings accounts.

Yes, banks are privately owned, but they also serve as quasi-utilities with broader public responsibilities. Shouldn’t that same logic apply to a food store megamerger?

Maybe what’s needed is a communi ty benefits agreement that codifies ways this new super-company would assist hyperlocal grocery co-ops, food distri bution banks, emerging online stores and independent grocers that are work ing to ease the food desert calamity. It’s a long shot, but that’s a demand grass roots community organizations and

politici ans in Chicago and beyond might consider as Kroger scrambles for federal regulatory approval.

FINANCIAL ENGINEERING

Right now, however, Kroger is pledging to maintain the chains’ current food sus tainability programs while incremental ly reinvesting $1.5 billion in Albertsons, should the transaction be authorized. Of course, that’s after Kroger launches an estimated $500 million in cost cuts that you can bet will quickly translate into store closings, cutting jobs, turning the screws on suppliers and forging other socalled “efficiencies” that could ultimately mean less investment in food insecurity

efforts.

And to make merger matters more in teresting, Albertsons intends to dole out a special dividend to its shareholders worth $4 billion. Fearing this bit of nancial engineering will deplete resourc es and greatly hinder the Jewel parent company’s ability to compete, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and his counterparts in other states are suing to suspend the payment.

Albertsons counters that the dividend is going to be paid regardless of the merger with Kroger, and the allegation the payout will hurt its ability to compete is “merit less.” ose backing the Kroger-Albertsons

alliance argue the combo is essential to squaring o against Walmart superstores, where grocery revenues account for 56% of the chain’s sales. (Walmart has 21 Chica go-area stores.)

Even if this assertion is true, I’m skep tical a megadeal that could end up hurt ing customers and communities is worth the risk. Perhaps Kroger and Albertsons should stay in their own grocery aisles and concentrate on running their respective businesses better.

After all, if rearranging one local food store is troublesome, just imagine the con sumer chaos that will assuredly accompa ny a merger of the country’s two largest supermarket chains.

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Reducing Our Carbon Footprint: Natural Gas Must Be Part of the Solution

Understanding where energy comes from and how to integrate existing energy sources with new technologies is one of the challenges I am taking on as the new president and CEO of Nicor Gas.

WENDELL DALLAS President and CEO Nicor Gas

I am proud to work at a company that provides clean, safe, reliable and a ordable natural gas to 2.3 million customers in 650 northern Illinois communities every day of the year. I began my career as an engineer and have worked in the natural gas industry for more than 30 years, so when I’m involved in discussions on how we will reach net zero and why it is so important, my analytical side comes out.

Everyone wants to reach net zero, but it’s a walk, not a sprint. Currently, 75% of the natural gas and electricity energy needs of our customers are met by natural gas in the northern Illinois region. Natural gas has to be, and is, part of the solution to reach that goal, and collaboration within the energy industry as a whole, our customers and our legislators is key.

Net zero describes the amount of greenhouse gases that are removed from the atmosphere being equal to those emitted by human activity.

We believe the best approach is an “all of the above” energy strategy that capitalizes on the unique bene ts that natural gas, renewables, electricity, nuclear power and negative carbon initiatives provide and use them in a portfolio approach.

Recently, we along with our ultimate parent company, Southern Company, announced a

together as part of a clean, safe, reliable and a ordable energy economy. ey also provide opportunities to create jobs, diverse business partnerships, economic development and green transportation options. e homes come with high e ciency building envelopes, distributed energy resources and smart home appliances that require less energy, therefore lowering monthly bills. Solar panels and battery storage solutions complement electric and natural gas technologies for the most cost-e cient, resilient path to reducing our carbon footprint.

know how cold winters can get. Our customers can depend on reliable, safe natural gas service during the most frigid of days. Even during the peak loads that our systems experience during the winter, our employees have ensured 24/7/365 operations to keep homes warm and businesses running.

How does natural gas t into the equation?

e natural gas infrastructure can transport clean fuels such as renewable natural gas (RNG). Nicor Gas is already working with RNG producers to integrate

continue to be for decades to come.

Why is Nicor Gas’ role so important to the state’s clean energy future?

Public utilities, including Nicor Gas, are already working hard to educate our customers and decision-makers about why natural gas must be part of an a ordable and sustainable clean energy future. We have the unique opportunity to show how innovative we can be through our “all of the above” approach to reach our net zero goals corporately and for our communities.

partnership with Habitat for Humanity a liates in Fox Valley and Northern Fox Valley to build two carbon neutral a ordable housing communities in Chicagoland called Smart Neighborhoods™. Communities planned in Aurora and Northern Fox Valley will total 30 singlefamily homes equipped with a combination of renewable, electric and natural gas technologies.

What makes a Smart NeighborhoodsTM home smart?

Smart NeighborhoodsTM advance energy technologies that work

Why must natural gas be a part of the overall energy portfolio?

ere is a strong push not only right here at home, but across the country and around the globe to rely fully on renewables as a sole energy source. However, we know that there are not enough renewables to drive sustainable service for residential and business users. It requires a partnership between natural gas, electricity and renewables to successfully meet the needs of our customers.

In northern Illinois, we

this clean, safe, reliable and a ordable energy source into our existing infrastructure and pipeline systems. As we integrate sustainable solutions like RNG, we are helping our customers by reducing the carbon footprint of natural gas services.

Natural gas also is a exible fuel for fastramping generation and reliable energy storage to minimize the risk of power disruptions and blackouts or brownouts during periods of peak demand. Most people do not realize that natural gas has been a key driver of emissions reductions and will

With Smart NeighborhoodsTM, we are demonstrating our intention to lead by serving customers who are in the greatest need. Eligible Smart NeighborhoodsTM residents will enjoy inexpensive mortgages through Habitat for Humanity as well as stateof-the-art appliances, while lowering their monthly energy bill and reducing their carbon footprint. As these technologies advance, it’s critical that homes equipped with energy e cient technologies remain an a ordable option – not a luxury – so that everyone can enjoy the savings for years to come.

“Everyone wants to reach net zero, but it’s a walk, not a sprint.”

HOSPITALS CRAIN'S

1

NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL Chicago, NM.org

2 RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER Chicago, Rush.edu

3 UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO MEDICAL CENTER Chicago, UChicagoMedicine.org

4 ADVOCATE CHRIST MEDICAL CENTER Oak Lawn, AdvocateHealth.com

ThomasMcAfee President Northwestern Memorial HealthCare

$2,224.2 17.7% $160.2 26.6% 257,1696,62685782.2%

OmarB.Lateef CEO Rush University System for Health $2,153.5 10.9% $206.5 169,5199,61762973.8%

ThomasE.Jackiewicz President University of Chicago Medicine $2,000.2 14.3% $0.0 228,98710,5007310.0%

MoodyChisholm President Advocate Aurora Health $1,366.5 10.7% $167.4 23.0% 228,9905,15373585.4%

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER Maywood, LoyolaMedicine.org

TadA.Gomez President

Loyola Medicine 1 $1,316.0 8.4% $135.0 568.1% 135,0056,00050074.0% 6 7

NORTHWESTERN MEDICINE CENTRAL DUPAGE HOSPITAL Winfield, NM.org

KennethHedley President Northwestern Memorial HealthCare $1,152.0 9.8% $224.8 -6.1% 82,6974,04140855.5% 7 6 ANN & ROBERT H. LURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF CHICAGO Chicago, LurieChildrens.org

8

Advocate Aurora Health

ADVOCATE LUTHERAN GENERAL HOSPITAL Park Ridge, AdvocateHealth.com

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS HOSPITAL & CLINICS Chicago, Hospital.UIllinois.edu

10 NORTHSHORE EVANSTON HOSPITAL Evanston, NorthShore.org

11 EDWARD HOSPITAL Naperville, www.eehealth.org

12 NORTHWEST COMMUNITY HEALTHCARE 2 Arlington Heights, NCH.org

13 ADVOCATE ILLINOIS MASONIC MEDICAL CENTER Chicago, AdvocateHealth.com

15 COMMUNITY HOSPITAL Munster, COMHS.org

RUSH COPLEY MEDICAL CENTER Aurora, Rush.edu

ELMHURST HOSPITAL Elmhurst, EEHealth.org

17 SILVER CROSS HOSPITAL New Lenox, SilverCross.org

DiaNichols President

MichaelZenn CEO

DouglasM.Silverstein President

JoeDant President, CEO

$1,025.2 20.1% $200.9 22.7% 156,6173,68256076.6%

ThomasP.Shanley President, CEO Independent $1,141.1 4.7% $4.5 171.4% 88,3775,93036462.0% 8

University of Illinois Chicago $819.4 5.1% $74.4 959.3% 105,5504,36838275.7%

NorthShore University HealthSystem $744.8 10.0% $0.0 0.0% 91,9933,52632179.0%

Edward-Elmhurst Health $700.4 12.3% $117.6 419.7% 88,1172,12437864.0%

SteveScogna President, CEO $630.1 12.2% $70.6 101,8303,94850965.6%

SusanNordstrom Lopez President

RandyNeiswonger CEO

JohnDiederich President, CEO

PamelaDunley President, CEO

Advocate Aurora Health $617.1 10.0% $112.7 26.0% 51,8891,96424258.7%

Community Healthcare System $575.7 15.3% $87.7 79.9% 79,0453,05938556.2%

Rush University System for Health $518.7 17.1% $107.3 51,9632,54121068.0%

Edward-Elmhurst Health $511.4 10.7% $51.1 54.2% 72,5342,06226874.0%

RuthA.Colby President, CEO Independent $497.5 12.5% $90.3 81.0% 88,9632,97630280.8%

CRAIN'S LIST

HEALTH SYSTEMS

Ranked by 2021 net patient revenue.

1

2

ADVOCATE AURORA HEALTH Downers Grove, AdvocateAuroraHealth.org

2 NORTHWESTERN MEDICINE Chicago, NM.org

JimSkogsbergh President, CEO $12,898.7 13.8% 2,305 4,586 25,765 52,853

DeanM.Harrison CEO, Northwestern Memorial HealthCare

$6,810.6 22.3% $478.2 63.2% $1,147.6 -1.6% $79.9 -10.9% $85.1 -50.7% 2,579 2,561 2,425 2,542 24,053 25,358

COOK COUNTY HEALTH Chicago, CookCountyHealth.org

IsraelRochaJr. CEO

$3,369.7 11.7% $25.4 219.6% $256.0 -9.9% $163.9 -1.5% 409 535 653 653 5,656 5,656 4 6

NORTHSHORE UNIVERSITY HEALTHSYSTEM Evanston, Northshore.org

RUSH UNIVERSITY SYSTEM FOR HEALTH Chicago, Rush.edu

J.P.Gallagher President, CEO

OmarLateef President, CEO

$2,865.5 16.5% $327.9 $515.8 -6.4% $23.7 -28.2% $97.2 12.4% 946 1,122 873 873 12,886 12,888

$2,966.4 39.0% $59.3 $302.6 12.7% $31.7 13.5% $87.7 59.6% 1,494 1,604 1,268 1,268 9,848 1 9,848 5 5

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO MEDICINE Chicago, UChicagoMedicine.org

MarkAnderson President

$2,537.5 13.7% $119.2 134.1% $606.9 -7.6% 1,296 1,670 1,670 14,600 14,600 7 8

LOYOLA MEDICINE 2 Westchester, LoyolaMedicine.org

ShawnP.Vincent President, CEO

$1,723.6 9.6% $192.1 $255.5 2.6% $32.0 150.8% $6.5 -74.9% 991 1,168 987 987 8,615 8,615 8 9

EDWARD-ELMHURST HEALTH Warrenville, EEHealth.org

MaryLouMastro CEO

NgoziEzike President, CEO $461.2 3.2% $33.3 210.3% $73.9 25.7% $45.6 18.2% $24.2 -61.4% 220 220 2,921 2,921

$1,465.0 12.4% $346.4 521.0% $154.5 25.0% $12.2 -3.2% $6.2 -41.8% 747 725 364 381 5,958 6,059 9 10 SINAI CHICAGO Chicago, Sinai.org

ResearchbySophieRodgers(sophie.rodgers@crain.com) |Toqualifyforthislist,hospitalsystemsmustbeheadquarteredintheseven-countyareaofCook,DuPage,Kane,Lake,McHenry,andWillinIllinois,andLakeinIndiana.Thislist comprisesinformationprovidedbyparticipatinghospitalsystems,andallfiguresareasofDec.31unlessotherwisenoted.“Totalcommunitybenefit”includestheunpaidcostofMedicare,Medicaid,uncompensatedcare,research,healthprofession education,communityhealthservices,subsidizedhealthservicesandfinancialdonations.“Charitycare”referstostrictcharitycareasdefinedbytheIllinoisCommunityBenefitsAct.“Staffedbeds”arebedsthatarelicensedandphysicallyavailable,where staffareonhandtoattendtothepatientwhooccupiesthebed.Staffedbedsincludethosethatareoccupiedandthosethatarevacant.“Licensedbeds”referstothemaximumnumberofbedsahospitalholdsalicensetooperate.NOTES: 1. AsofJanuary 2021 Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights became part of NorthShore. 2. Loyola Medicine is a wholly owned subsidiary of Trinity Health Corp.

Black corporate professionals continue to face barriers to reaching C-suite-level positions. Crain’s talks with three leading executives to explore how they’ve navigated their challenges and successes in the corporate world. Cassandra West , editor of Crain’s Equity series, will moderate the discussion.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

BANKING

First Bank Chicago, Northbrook

First Bank Chicago, one of the top ve privately held banks in Chicagoland, proudly announces the promotion of Jeffrey Donenberg to Chief Investment Of cer. He is responsible for managing the Bank’s investment portfolio and oversees established processes to ensure investment policies are followed. He works closely with the investment team to develop both short and long-term investment strategies. Jeff is the longest tenured employee at First Bank Chicago with 39 years of dedicated service.

BANKING

First Bank Chicago, Northbrook

First Bank Chicago, one of the top ve privately held banks in Chicagoland, announces the promotion of Deanna Levin to EVP, Portfolio Management. She is responsible for managing the Middle Marketing/Large Corporate loan portfolio. With 30+ years of commercial banking expertise, she works with the credit team to ensure credit standards are being met. She also leads a diverse team of bankers that service loans during the underwriting & credit monitoring process. Deanna joined First Bank in 2008.

To place your listing, visit www.chicagobusiness.com/peoplemoves or, for more information, contact Debora Stein at 917.226.5470 / dstein@crain.com

CANNABIS SECTOR

Acannability, Chicago

Acannability is the rst member driven directto-consumer advertising cooperative for the cannabis industry.

Mika Stambaugh is co-founder, bringing 20-years of communications expertise to the Chicago start-up. Mika has successfully rolled out emerging businesses like rideshare and home-share, as former Director of Communications for the City of Chicago. Mika is an Emmy-Award winning journalist, who will utilize her skills to build the go-to resource for consumers and the good housekeeping seal of approval.

LAW FIRM

Kelleher + Holland, LLC, North Barrington

Kelleher + Holland has named Douglas A. Hanson an equity member of the rm. Doug’s 35+ years of experience as a CPA, coupled with his estate planning, estate + trust administration, residential + commercial real estate, and commercial litigation expertise, have established his crucial role in the K + H team.

LAW FIRM

Kelleher + Holland, LLC, North Barrington

Kelleher + Holland has named Donald J. Morrison an equity member of the rm. For over 25 years, Don has built a strong reputation in litigation, handling matters such as personal injury, wrongful death, product liability, medical malpractice, and criminal law. His winning mentality and leadership abilities have earned him a higher stake on the K + H team.

LAW FIRM

Kelleher + Holland, LLC, North Barrington

Kelleher + Holland has named Raymond M. Rudnick an equity member of the rm. Ray has concentrated his practice in litigation, primarily family law, personal injury, commercial disputes, and criminal law. His 20+ years of experience have resulted in an impressive record of success both in and out of the courtroom. Ray’s loyalty and dedication has made him an integral part of K + H’s success and growth.

CONSULTING

Accenture, Chicago

Accenture named Andrew J.P. Levy to the newly created position of chief corporate and government affairs of cer. In this role, Levy will lead the company’s geopolitical strategic analysis and its global government relations function, as well as a global network of external strategists and advisors in this area.

Levy will report directly to Accenture’s General Counsel, Joel Unruch, and work closely with the company’s Global Management Committee and Board of Directors.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Wintrust Financial Corporation, Rosemont

Carrie Stead has joined Wintrust as the Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Of cer of Old Plank Trail Community Bank, N.A. Carrie brings extensive commercial banking and credit/ risk management experience to the bank, having previously served in senior roles at Wells Fargo, CIT and Citibank. A collaborative leader, she will partner with the business to drive responsible growth and make a meaningful impact in the organization and the community.

Latham

& Watkins, Chicago

Kathryn George has been elected a partner at Latham & Watkins LLP in Chicago, effective January 1. A member of the Securities Litigation & Professional Liability Practice and Litigation & Trial Department, she represents clients in litigation matters in both state and federal courts, including in securities litigation, class actions, and commercial and contractual disputes.

Latham & Watkins, Chicago

John Lister has been elected a partner at Latham & Watkins LLP in Chicago, effective January 1. A member of the Banking Practice and Finance Department, he advises nancial institutions, alternative nancing providers, corporate borrowers, and private equity funds on a range of leveraged nance transactions.

Latham & Watkins, Chicago

Jack McNeily has been elected a partner at Latham & Watkins LLP in Chicago, effective January 1. A member of the Securities Litigation & Professional Liability Practice and Litigation & Trial Department, he represents clients in high-stakes securities litigation and white collar defense and investigations and has successfully defended multiple clients through civil and criminal trials.

LAW FIRM

Latham & Watkins, Chicago

Jonathan Sarna has been elected a partner at Latham & Watkins LLP in Chicago, effective January 1. A member of the Capital Markets Practice and Corporate Department, he represents issuers and underwriters in capital markets transactions and advises clients on securities regulation and corporate governance matters across industries, with a focus on the life sciences and real estate investment trust (REIT) sectors.

Latham & Watkins, Chicago

Leah Segall has been promoted to counsel at Latham & Watkins LLP in Chicago, effective January 1. A member of the Executive Compensation, Employment & Bene ts Practice and Tax Department, she advises companies and private equity funds on executive compensation and employee bene ts issues arising in corporate transactions, employment and separation agreements, and equity and cash incentive compensation plans and arrangements.

Latham & Watkins, Chicago

Emily Stegich has been promoted to counsel at Latham & Watkins LLP in Chicago, effective January 1. A member of the Mergers & Acquisitions Practice and Corporate Department, she advises public and private companies, as well as family of ces and their portfolio companies, on complex M&A, corporate reorganizations, and general corporate governance.

LAW FIRM

Latham & Watkins, Chicago

Jason Grover has been promoted to counsel at Latham & Watkins LLP in Chicago, effective January 1. A member of the Tax Controversy Practice and Tax Department, he represents taxpayers in federal tax controversies, including exam, appeals, and litigation in the US Tax Court, the US Court of Federal Claims, and the US district courts.

Latham & Watkins, Chicago

Andrea Keller has been promoted to counsel at Latham & Watkins LLP in Chicago, effective January 1. A member of the Banking Practice and Finance Department, she represents nancial institutions and corporate borrowers in domestic and cross-border commercial lending transactions, including secured and unsecured credit facilities, asset-based and cash ow credit facilities, and acquisition and working capital nancings.

Latham & Watkins, Chicago

Dustin Paige has been promoted to counsel at Latham & Watkins LLP in Chicago, effective January 1. A member of the Real Estate Practice and Corporate Department, he advises real estate investment trusts (REITs), private equity funds, and other real estate investors on matters relating to the acquisition, disposition, nancing, leasing, and sale-leaseback of commercial real estate.

LEGAL

Levenfeld Pearlstein, Chicago

Levenfeld Pearlstein (LP), one of Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplaces, is pleased to announce the addition of Suzanne Karbarz Rovner as a partner in the rm’s Real Estate Group. Suzanne represents owners, developers, contractors, architects, and engineers in construction projects throughout the country. She has represented clients with development projects that include student housing, manufactured housing, hospitals, hotels, retail and residential.

NON-PROFIT

Future Founders, Chicago

Future Founders, a non-pro t building the nation’s largest inclusive community of intentional young entrepreneurs, announced the appointment of Jason VandeBoom as Board Chair. Jason VandeBoom is the Founder & CEO of ActiveCampaign. Founded in 2003, ActiveCampaign accelerates every company’s growth with the only automation platform designed for ideal customer experiences.

RESTAURANT

Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants, Downers Grove

Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants has named Luca Corazzina Executive Chef at Esquire by Cooper’s Hawk, the rst concept in the brand’s “by Cooper’s Hawk” signature experience. Corazzina comes to Esquire via Tavern on Rush, and has held roles at acclaimed restaurants including Via Emilia, Trattoria Veneta, and Prosecco. Luca will oversee Esquire’s standing menu and help execute their quarterly “Visiting Chefs” menus with chefs such as Tom Colicchio, Carla Hall and Tyler Florence.

LAW FIRM

LAW FIRM

LAW FIRM

LAW FIRM

LAW FIRM

LAW FIRM

LAW FIRM

NONPROFIT BOARD LEADERS

Good board members support nonprofits with their time, talents and treasures. Great board members do all of that and then some. These 47 leaders treat board service as the second job it is, applying their professional skills to boost their chosen organization’s profile, finances and outreach. They create and champion DEI efforts, help their chosen organizations deal with the aftereffects of the pandemic, create new fundraisers and breathe new life into existing ones, and mentor other board members. Their efforts, described here, strengthen all manner of area nonprofits, from social-service agencies to theater companies.

—By Lisa Bertagnoli

KATHLEEN ABBOTT  Past president  Crisis Center for South Suburbia

Kathleen Abbott is active with the Crisis Center for South Suburbia, which provides victims of domestic violence with a 24-hour hotline, emergency shelter, community-based housing and counseling. She has served on the client services, nance, development and executive committees and currently chairs the nominating committee. As a member of the gala committee for eight years and chair for the past three, she transformed the event from a dinner dance into a gala whose net proceeds have increased by 200%. During the pandemic, Abbott used her expertise in risk management to help the Crisis Center remain open. Abbott is vice president of business operations and technical services for Chicago-based Exelon.

CURT BAILEY

Board member, immediate past president  Start Early

From 2017 to 2021, Curt Bailey served as board chair of Start Early, which advances early learning for families with children. He supported Start Early’s 18-month rebranding e ort (it was formerly known as the Ounce of Prevention Fund), creating a new tagline, “Champions for Early Learning.” He established a strategic plan to impact 25% of children under age 5 living in poverty and helped the organization expand to Seattle and Oakland, Calif. He also helped Start Early obtain a contract to lead implementation of one of four National Centers for Parent, Family and Community Engagement, a program of the Administration for Children and Families, O ce of Head Start. Bailey is president of Chicago-based Related Midwest.

GREG BOYLE

Board president  Chicago Bar Foundation

As president of CFB, the largest voluntarily supported bar foundation in the country, Greg Boyle co-leads annual trips to Washington, D.C., and Springeld with members of Chicago’s legal community to educate government o cials on legislation that improves access to justice. While he was chair of the advocacy committee, CBF successfully advocated for the passage of legislative initiatives to increase access to justice, including eviction court name change legislation, which simpli ed the law to make the eviction process more understandable for tenants and landlords alike. He also led e orts to simplify statutory language, replacing terms like “prayer for relief” and “ad damnum” with plain language alternatives. Boyle is a partner at Jenner & Block.

TERRI AHRENS

Immediate past president, governing board  Center for Disability & Elder Law

Terri Ahrens served as board president from 2016 to 2022 at CDEL, which provides free legal services to Cook County’s low-income seniors and people with disabilities. During her time as board president, CDEL navigated the pandemic without halting its services; moved o ces; hired a new executive director; secured two PPP loans; expanded sta ; and doubled its budget. She also created a structure for CDEL’s governing board and executive committee and raised the organization’s pro le by making connections within the Association of Corporate Counsel and connecting CDEL to new law rm partners who become donors and volunteers. Ahrens is interim associate general counsel at Rosemont-based US Foods.

DON BIERNACKI Board Chair

HIRE360

HIRE360 is an industry-led nonpro t that identi es, recruits, trains and helps community members navigate the apprenticeship process in hospitality and construction. It also creates career opportunities by investing capital, time and mentorship to help minority- and women-owned businesses. Biernacki, who is executive vice president of construction at Related Midwest and president of LR Contracting, has helped drive new partnerships, raise money and promote inclusion of HIRE360’s model into the strategic plans of numerous construction and development companies in the region. He also helped secure many donations for HIRE360’s forthcoming headquarters on the Near South Side, including the headquarters building itself and donations of supplies, systems and labor.

KRIS CAREY

Board chair  Chicago Scholars

Kris Carey is board chair for Chicago Scholars, a nonpro t leadership development organization that empowers academically ambitious low-income or rst-generation students to overcome systemic barriers to success in college. She leads the executive committee through strategic growth discussions and budget approvals. Her experience in legal and human resources helped guide decision-making on internships, communications partnerships and HR policies. She’s also made important connections to pro bono supports and helped the leadership team in an organizational redesign that improved e ciency. Carey, executive vice president and chief human resources o cer with Constellation Brands, also provides insight and guidance on Chicago Scholars’ employment practices as well as its Racial Justice, Equity, Accessibility, Diversity, and Inclusion (READI) initiative.

BRANDON ALLEN

Chair, South Side advisory board  YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago

As chair, Brandon Allen is a key supporter of the South Side Y’s fundraising and activities and has helped the board become more actively engaged. For example, previously the South Side Y held only one annual signature event; today it holds a Juneteenth Community BBQ and celebration, a Giving Tuesday event, the House Party fundraiser, the South Side YMCA “listening series,” and has various partnerships with Wilson, Nike, Comcast, Target, the Obama Presidential Center and others. Allen, who is a property management business partner for Target, also has a wide social media following and shares information about YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago and the 200,000 individuals it serves each year.

RICHARD BLABOLIL

Board chair  Humboldt Park Health

During his tenure as a trustee and now board chair, Richard Blabolil helped strategize this “safety-net” hospital’s approach to health disparities. Under his leadership, the hospital was a major site for both testing and vaccinations during the pandemic. He also helped ensure its nancial stability as an economic engine, employing more than 1,000 sta , most of whom reside in Humboldt Park. He helped bring a rstof-its-kind Wellness Center to Humboldt Park, o ering swimming, sports, behavioral-health counseling and wellness programming for the rst time locally. Blabolil, who is president and CEO of Rosemont-based Marketing Innovators International, also elevated board governance with qualitative checkpoint measures.

SUSAN CROWN

Board chair

Rush University System for Health

Susan Crown’s involvement at Rush spans decades. She became a trustee in 1986 and helped de ne its future on the steering committee for e Campaign for Rush. She chaired the facilities committee from 2006 to 2014, during which the Rush signature tower was designed. When the pandemic hit, Crown empowered Rush to commit signi cant resources to bring testing, care and vaccines to Black and Brown communities rst, a proactive health-equity approach that saved countless lives. Crown also worked closely with a task force to counter the pandemic’s nancial impact, seeking out alternative funding sources that kept community programs in place. She also championed the Incident Command Structure for operational e ciency. Crown is chair of Owl Creek Partners.

METHODOLOGY: The individuals featured did not pay to be included. Their profiles were written from the nomination materials submitted. This list is not comprehensive. It includes only individuals for whom nominations were submitted and accepted after a review by editors. Nominees must be based in the Chicago area and serve on the board of a charitable organization that serves the public and has active fundraising campaigns. They must have advanced the cause of the nonprofit in a meaningful way, mentored other board members and helped the organization operate more efficiently.

MARLENE DIAZ

Auxiliary board member  Midtown Educational Foundation

Marlene Diaz’s primary roles are social fundraising, tutor and volunteer recruitment, organizational awareness and special projects for MEF, which provides a safe haven for more than 1,000 fourth to 12th graders, focusing on academic excellence, virtue development, individual attention and parental engagement. She helped raise funds to support MEF’s programs through event planning, securing sponsorships and ra e items, working the events, selling ra e tickets and encouraging charitable giving from her personal and professional networks. From 2019 to November 2021, she served on the tutor recruitment and retention committee and also worked closely with the center directors on initiatives to engage current volunteers. Diaz is vice president of consumer lending at Beverly Bank & Trust Company in Chicago.

SIDNEY DILLARD

Board president  Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago & Northwest Indiana

Inspired by her own experiences as a Girl Scout, Sidney Dillard advocates for equitable, accessible opportunities for all girls. Under her board leadership, the council is reaching communities in gap markets while prioritizing DEI practices. She supports partnerships with the business community that can provide experiential learning opportunities and build a pipeline of women leaders who will re ect the diversity of the communities served by the council. Dillard chairs the philanthropic engagement committee, advocating for diversi ed nancial portfolios that will secure the success of the mission and support innovative master-property plans for owned and leased spaces. Dillard is a partner and head of corporate investment banking at Loop Capital Markets.

ASHLEY DUCHOSSOIS JOYCE

Board chair

Metropolitan Family Services

In two decades of engagement, Ashley Duchossois Joyce has helped diversify the board and been instrumental in generating the more than $1 million now raised annually by its signature fundraiser, Mpower the Night. Her leadership helped keep more than 1,000 sta employed during the pandemic while increasing individuals served from 93,000 (FY 2019) to 136,000 (FY 2022).

During her tenure as chair, MFS merged with another agency and launched an initiative promoting racial equity. It also undertook the buildout of a new headquarters, plus sites on Chicago’s Southwest Side and the southwest suburbs, o ces in central Illinois for a new anti-human tra cking initiative and an IT center. Duchossois Joyce is chair of the Duchossois Family Foundation.

PATRICK FISHER

Board member and chairman of the investment committee

Catholic Charities USA

Patrick Fisher has used his network to propel Catholic Charities, which provides services to people in need and advocates for justice in social structures, into new funding relationships and to attract management talent. His experience in impact investing helps support the organization’s social-enterprise work and has been particularly valuable during challenging market environments. He helped launch and judge the Catholic Charities Innovation Challenge, providing millions to agencies nationwide for innovations in operations and social enterprise. As a direct result of these e orts, he participated in a Microsoft-led IT development to streamline intake and wraparound services in four pilot locations. Fisher is the founder and managing partner of Creation Investments Capital Management.

EMILY FITZGERALD

President, Associate Board of Ambassadors

American Cancer Society

Emily Fitzgerald has grown the ABOA from a membership of 40 when she joined to nearly 200 today. She also strategically reorganized the leadership team to empower board members to take ownership over events. e board had a record-breaking year during her rst term as president by raising more than $500,000 in 2021 and then hosted more than 800 guests for a Skyline Soiree in September 2022, raising another $340,000. She is also a member of the Illinois Area Board, composed primarily of C-suite executives, and a co-chair for the Illinois Cancer Research Fund, which issued its rst-ever grant in 2022. Fitzgerald is a partner with Swanson Martin & Bell.

MATT GAMBS

Board member  Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago

As a member of the board, Matt Gambs is closely monitoring operations to balance reinvestment and growth at BGCC, which provides nearly 20,000 young people with emotional, educational, physical and cultural resources. He serves on the HR committee, guiding BGCC’s sta ng policies at more than 20 clubs across the city. He advocates for BGCC’s aquatics program, ensuring that children in under-resourced communities get lifesaving swim lessons. He helped procure digital billboard space to promote BGCC’s annual Youth of the Year event, highlighting the accomplishments of children. Additionally, he advocated on behalf of BGCC to participate as a 50/50 split-the-pot bene ciary at a major Chicago sporting event. Gambs is senior vice president, community impact, with Wintrust.

JILL GARLING

Chair, board of directors and Chicago advisory board

Facing History & Ourselves

Jill Garling brings strong community connections to Facing History, which provides resources to challenge teachers and students to stand up to bigotry. She chairs the executive committee and has held several major leadership positions, including two terms as advisory board chair in Chicago, chair of the development committee and a member of the committee on governance. She strengthened operations by leading the board excellence governance reform project as well as collaborating with senior sta on a year-long

process to create a new strategic plan that ensures the organization has a sustainable revenue model. She is co-chairing the search committee for a new CEO. Garling is a leadership coach and consultant to nonpro t professionals.

RYAN GARRISON  Board chair  Chicago House

When an internal audit revealed that a CFO had stolen from Chicago House, which empowers 2,000 people living with HIV/ AIDS through support services and the TransLife Care program, Ryan Garrison brought it back from a vulnerable position. He hired a crisis communications team and rebuilt the organization’s nances, chairing multiple fundraising campaigns and large-scale events. He relocated its corporate o ces to the South Side and secured funding for its rst new housing project in 25 years, a 13-family project in Englewood as well as a future development in Humboldt Park. He hired a specialized IT rm to safeguard clients’ sensitive health care information. Garrison is CEO and principal with Garrison Olson, a digital marketing agency.

LEE HENDERSON

Trustee and audit committee vice chair

Big Shoulders Fund

Lee Henderson is a founding member of Big Shoulders Fund’s Black Leaders Mentoring Program, which o ers guidance to nearly 60 mentees at eight schools. Recognizing the importance of teaching nancial literacy at an early age, he helped create the EY Entrepreneurship Competition, a STEM-focused program that pairs middle school students from 20 schools with mentors from EY to teach them the basic lessons of entrepreneurship. He is also vice chair of Big Shoulders Fund’s audit committee, maintaining the organization’s duciary transparency and e cient operations. Henderson is a partner with EY. Big Shoulders Fund supports 92 high-need schools in Chicago and northwest Indiana through scholarships, academic programs, operational improvements and teacher/ leadership development.

DANIEL HERNANDEZ

Board president  Between Friends

Daniel Hernandez created the current strategic plan at Between Friends, which works to prevent domestic violence and end cycles of abuse. Under the plan, the organization helped more than 7,100 people, a 40% increase from the prior year. Hernandez and Between Friends’ executive director met with foundations across Chicago to secure more than $350,000 in new grants, enabling it to expand programs. Between Friends now has a comprehensive plan to grow into a $2.5 million organization. In June, the board approved a budget with revenue of $2.3 million, a 55% increase from the prior scal year. Hernandez is CEO and principal attorney with NextLevel Law.

KENNETH A. HOFFMAN

Treasurer  Les Turner ALS Foundation

Kenneth A. Ho man was board chair from 2014 to 2022 and is now treasurer at Les Turner ALS Foundation, which supports people living with ALS and their families as they navigate the disease.

Among recent activities, he advised on the modernization of the delivery system model of the nonpro t’s support services during COVID, supported the expansion of the clinical trial program at the Les Turner ALS Center at Northwestern Medicine, and lobbied for the recognition of emerging biotherapeutics companies to bring drug therapies to people living with ALS. He’s also supported the redesign of the ALS basic science research grant program and worked toward ful llment of the $10 million endowment at Les Turner ALS Center at Northwestern Medicine.

MARK HOPLAMAZIAN Chair

Skills for Chicagoland’s Future

Mark Hoplamazian has facilitated growth at Skills, which addresses unemployment through its “jobs- rst” approach, helping to increase the budget from $4.5 million when he became chair in 2018 to $9.7 million in 2022.

He helped found the Community Based Organization Collective, encouraging discussions to launch the 16-member collective. He’s advanced Skills’ national expansion plans—bringing the model to 25 cities in 10 years—by designating a committee, recruiting members and hiring positions focused on expansion. He improved operations by participating in Skills’ 2021-2024 strategic plan and investment in areas such as IT, and by providing subject matter expertise through Hyatt sta . Hoplamazian is president and CEO of Hyatt Hotels.

NOLAND JOINER Board chair Adler University

In 2014, Noland Joiner became a board member at Adler, which o ers programs for social change and has strategic partnerships with 476 communitypartner organizations. During Joiner’s service, he’s helped Adler spur a 27% increase in revenue and a 31% increase in enrollment; navigate the pandemic, outperforming peers in enrollments and workforce growth; complete its rst comprehensive fundraising campaign; and start an anti-racism agenda. He plays a role in nancial oversight, audit reviews, the revision of the university’s investment policies to be socially responsible, and the launch of its rst endowment fund. Joiner is principal, professional services, at AWS.

CYNTHIA JONES

Board vice president; co-chair of governance committee

Thresholds

Cynthia Jones serves on several committees at resholds, which provides health care and housing for thousands of people with mental illnesses and substance-use disorders. As co-chair for governance and recruitment, she helps vet new board members, which helped increase representation on the board to 34% people of color from 10%. She also helped launch resholds Health, a new primary-care nonpro t on Chicago’s West Side, which is the agency’s foray into primary health care. Her business expertise is essential in her role as a member of the program committee, which oversees resholds programs and services. Jones is director clinical quality, renal care services, at Deer eld-based Baxter.

IVONA KUTERMANKIEWICZ Board member

Jackson Chance Foundation

Ivona Kutermankiewicz joined the Jackson Chance Foundation board in 2015 and serves on the event committee for Owl Ride for Jackson, a 111-mile bike ride, and Ping Pong Ball, the organization’s two annual fundraisers. Kutermankiewicz’s work on the committee has doubled the number of Owl Ride participants and tripled the number of sponsors, resulting in a 400% increase in funds raised. She also has participated in the bike ride for the last ve years.

Kutermankiewicz uses business connections gained through her real estate brokerage, Ivona Homes, to bring awareness to the foundation, which raises money to support NICU babies and their families.

Notable Nonprofit Board Leader

Partner Jorge M. Leon

Board Leaders!

Michael Best congra tula te s Crain’ s2 022 Notable Nonprofit Board Leaders recipient Jorge Leon. His hard work and dedication to the firm, clients, and our community is a direct reflection of what sets Jorge apart from his peers.

PAUL LABONNE

Chairman Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance

Paul Labonne helps ensure that the Gar eld Park Conservatory, which o ers nature-education programs, performing arts and cultural events, is accessible to all. Under his leadership, the Alliance executed a community assessment and developed a logic model to advance DEI goals. He supports early-childhood activities by sponsoring funding requests for programming such as the partnership between WTTW and PNC’s Grow Up Great initiative. He’s leading the implementation of the Alliance’s strategic plan and moving toward completion of a $5.6 million capital campaign to build the Elizabeth Morse Genius Children’s Garden. His guidance also helped the Alliance weather the pandemic without severe nancial consequences. Labonne is a vice president and community consultant with PNC Bank.

KAREN LAYNG National president Girl Scouts

of the USA

Karen Layng has led a governance overhaul at the board level and for all GSUSA Movement committees, instituting and completing the organization’s rst-ever enterprise risk management and DEI/ racial justice and advocacy audits.

As a result of this and other work, Girl Scouts membership is increasing for the rst time in 10 years. As national president, she serves as a member of most of the board’s committees and task forces, ensuring that strategic initiatives are met. ese initiatives include establishing a national donor-designated fund to support scholarships for Gold Award Girl Scouts and developing brickand-mortar experience centers to deliver the programming girls of today want. Layng is CEO and founder of Riverside-based consultancy M.A.I.T. Co.

JORGE LEON Trustee Field Museum

Drawing on his experience advocating for diversity, Jorge Leon has helped develop partnerships between the Field Museum and nonpro t groups, also championing the museum’s e orts to support minority-owned businesses. He leveraged his network to introduce a new generation of women and diverse professionals as future civic leaders at the museum. He serves on the DEAI committee, where he advised on the development of a sta -level diversity committee and the hiring of a chief diversity o cer; the repatriation subcommittee, where he helped adjudicate Native American claims for the return of culturally sensitive artifacts; and the retirement and bene ts committee, helping to protect employee bene ts. Leon is a partner at Michael Best & Friedrich.

MICHELE MEADOWS Board member Boys & Girls Clubs

EZEKIEL “ZEKE” MORRIS Board president

of Chicago

Michele Meadows identi es and develops relationships with corporate executives to increase awareness of BGCC and expand their involvement. She organizes educational volunteer events that bene t the youth served by BGCC, including book donation programs, activity days and corporate o ce visit days throughout the year. She also participates in a national KPMG network of Boys & Girls Clubs of America board members, which supports Boys & Girls Clubs initiatives, develops new programs and encourages KPMG employee participation. She’s on the steering committee of KPMG’s annual Season of Giving campaign, which encourages 100% participation of its more than 3,000 Chicago employees through contributions and volunteerism. Meadows is a partner with KPMG US.

Ada S. McKinley Community Services

An alumni of Ada S. McKinley’s college prep program, Zeke Morris has connected McKinley with national and local funding sources and leads board e orts to advance HUD property and commercial facility management while advocating for community rights. His interviews have helped secure 130 media placements in the last two years. He recently led the board through a complete asset acquisition merger with Healthy Families Chicago that has expanded the footprint of McKinley’s child development services. McKinley also organically grew child welfare programs resulting in a 33% increase in foster care referrals. Morris also helped the agency add a new location focused on early learning. Morris is managing broker with EXIT Strategy Realty/EMA Management.

SYLVIA NEIL Board chair Lyric Opera of Chicago

Sylvia Neil is involved in all key committees at Lyric including executive, nance, investment and nominating. She’s also committed to Lyric’s work in communities through Lyric Unlimited and ongoing programming. She established a succession plan with outgoing board chair David Ormesher; established an IDEA (inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility) steering committee on the board, aligning recruitment e orts around IDEA throughout the organization; and created new committees to focus on audience development as well as multi-season planning. Neil is a lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School, where she was formerly the associate dean; she’s also the founder and chair of the Project on Gender, Culture, Religion and Law at Brandeis University.

AIMEE NOLAN Board chair

Alzheimer’s Association Illinois chapter

Under Aimee Nolan’s leadership at the Alzheimer’s Association, which works to accelerate global research and maximize quality care, fundraising events have increased in attendance and revenue, elevating its visibility throughout the Chicago area. As chair she has focused on elevating the executive pro le of the board as well as diversifying it through intentional recruitment strategies. Nolan chaired the association’s rst Illinois Women Conquer Alz fundraising committee which, through its annual women’s luncheons, has raised close to $350,000. She’s also made recruiting volunteer leaders more e cient through a more robust onboarding process that keeps them engaged. Nolan is vice president and associate general counsel with Lake Forest-based Grainger.

BURTON ODELSON La Grange board chairman Women’s Care Center Foundation

e Women’s Care Center Foundation raises funds in support of the Women’s Care Center’s counseling and testing for pregnant women and families. e foundation, begun in South Bend, Ind., is relatively new to northern Illinois and serves families through donations with no government subsidies. e

LaGrange Care Center—only the second in Illinois and the only one in the Chicago area—has served almost 10,000 young families from over 300 ZIP codes. Odelson is president of Odelson Sterk Murphey Frazier & McGrath in Evergreen Park.

ROBIN POWERS Board chair

North

Suburban Legal Aid Clinic

Under Robin Powers’ leadership, NSLAC, which provides free legal services in the areas of domestic violence, housing and immigration, celebrated its seventh anniversary and completed its second strategic plan. She guided NSLAC through exponential growth, ensuring that systems grew with the organization, and also helped NSLAC weather the pandemic as the organization provided uninterrupted service to clients. She assisted in securing grant funding, initiated legal lings and recruited a diverse board. In the aftermath of the Fourth of July mass shooting in Highland Park, NSLAC provided services to the victims and served on the team mapping out a recovery plan. Powers is a partner at Rothschild Barry & Myers.

JOHN PTAK President Honor Flight Chicago

Honor Flight Chicago honors veterans by bringing them to their war memorials in Washington, D.C. It has become the largest of Honor Flight’s 125 national hubs, with nearly 10,000 veterans honored. John Ptak leads the Chicago organization, chairing board meetings, overseeing nancial accounts and programming, and personally championing Operation Education, an expansion of the HFC mission into local schools. His work includes pairing 110 veterans with volunteer and family Guardians on each ight while also traveling on each trip as the lead bus captain. In 2022, Honor Flight Chicago ights expanded, with 20% more veterans per trip, and Operation Education has connected HFC volunteers and veterans with more than 200 Chicago-area schools. Ptak is principal at Gofen & Glossberg.

VICTOR RAVAGO

Board chair Center on Halsted

As the new board chair at Center on Halsted, a comprehensive community center dedicated to advancing the well-being of LGBTQ people, Victor Ravago champions DEI governance e orts by focusing on board recruitment, developing policies that ensure an equitable working environment and working to expand the Youth House program. During the past two years, he oversaw the budget process and nancial governance to eliminate all of the organization’s debt and ensure its long-term nancial sustainability. He also led the e ort to update the center’s nancial policies to re ect its long-term nancial goals and provide a DEI lens. Ravago is CEO of Bravo Hospitality Group.

MATTHEW REILEIN

Chair; ex-officio member of all committees

Chicago Community Loan Fund

Under Matthew Reilein’s leadership, CCLF gained national attention as an institution working to rebuild from the e ects of redlining, urban renewal and segregation. He positioned the organization to help close racial disparities in access to credit, affordable housing, and goods and services. CCLF has completed 590 loans totaling $300 million in nancing, leveraging another $1.7 billion in public- and private-sector capital for community projects. Reilein inspired the creation of CCLF’s $25 million Communities of Color fund, o ering low-cost capital and more exible lending standards to African American, Latino and other developers of color. Reilein also positioned CCLF for a $10 million unrestricted grant from MacKenzie Scott. He is CEO of National Equity Fund.

JOAN RUBSCHLAGER

Board vice president Easterseals Serving Chicagoland & Greater Rockford

For 13 years, Joan Rubschlager has been a board member of the organization, which assists 30,000 clients annually. She played a critical guiding role as the organization went through a period of nancial strain that led to closing positions, the selling of assets and the need for a long-term sustainability plan. Rubschlager engaged a small group of board members to de ne a path forward. A former schoolteacher, Rubschlager’s expertise in education was used to design

HEATHER RUSSELL Board member Illinois Legal Aid Online

STACEY SARGENT Board member

The Chicago Furniture Bank

Easterseals Academy, a facility with spatial arrangements, lighting and furniture specically to serve youth with autism spectrum disorder and other behavioral and physical disabilities. Rubschlager is president of the Joan & Paul Rubschlager Foundation.

Heather Russell joined ILAO’s board of directors in 2019 and has been an advocate for its mission of helping Illinoisans who are unable to a ord lawyers. She chaired ILAO’s 2019 annual bene t, which netted 75% more revenue than any other bene t. e board’s strongest fundraiser, she brought in 12 new sponsors who continue their support to this day. She is also part of the strategic planning committee and was a driving force behind the Expand Visibility pillar of the organization’s new strategic plan. Her innovative approach on the fund development committee has led to new initiatives, such as pursuing environmental, social and corporate governance opportunities. Russell is executive vice president and chief legal o cer at TransUnion.

Stacey Sargent, a partner with Chicago Capital, serves on the board of CFB, which provides gently used furnishings and home goods to people recovering from homelessness. She is continuing a commitment started by former Chicago Capital Chairman Jim Mabie, who helped CFB in its infancy with funding and connections. Chicago Capital supports other organizations that are connected, including Cara, which provides training and job placement for the underemployed and homeless; resholds, which helps nd them housing; and CFB, which helps furnish those rst homes. Sargent is also involved in Rock the Street, Wall Street, a nonpro t that seeks to bring gender and racial equality to the nancial markets.

KATHY SCHERER Board chair

Junior Achievement of Chicago

Kathy Scherer is the rst woman to serve as board chair for Junior Achievement of Chicago, which focuses on nancial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship. She became chair during the pandemic and helped the organization stabilize and then grow to 229,000 students in the 2021-2022 school year from 173,000 students the year prior. Before that, she served as treasurer and audit committee chair, contributing to the operational health and nancial stability of the organization. She was instrumental in creating JA’s rst vice president of digital transformation role, o ering consulting and technological capabilities that are available to her through Deloitte, where she is central region market leader and a Chicago managing partner.

JOANN SEAGREN Chair

Openlands

JoAnn Seagren plays a pivotal role in the recruitment of leadership at Openlands, which works to protect the air, water, habitats and wildlife of the open spaces of northeastern Illinois. Under her leadership, the board chartered a DEI committee to implement an equitable framework across Openlands’ board, sta and volunteers. She’s a proponent of the “open studio,” a design-thinking approach by which sta and external experts collaborate on initiatives to build exible, creative committee structures. She’s also a spokesperson for Openlands issues, leading member discussions at the Economic Club of Chicago and spearheading nature-focused programming at the International Women’s Forum. Seagren is managing director with JAG Capital Management.

RYAN SULLIVAN Board president Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center

Ryan Sullivan has worked with ChicagoCAC, a front-line responder to reports of child abuse, violence and maltreatment, for more than 10 years. For the past three years, he’s led the board through the pandemic and increased funding to more than $8 million from $6.7 million. Recent years have seen the expansion of the Family Hope Center and the PATHH Collaboration, which reduces waiting lists for children who need mental health services. He was instrumental in the development of the Chicago Advocacy Network for Hope program and its capital campaign. He’s spearheading initiatives such as new 401(k) and retirement programs that improve bene ts while reducing costs. Sullivan is managing director of North Park Group.

MARY E. TIMMONS Board of directors, development chair

Chicago Commons

Mary Timmons is development chair for Chicago Commons. Its early-education programs reach 18 communities and 1,700 children, and its services for seniors and adults with disabilities reach more than 1,000. Attracting constituents through her networks, she helped double annual private fundraising over the past four years. She chaired the host committee for Commons’ 125th Anniversary Celebration in 2019, the COVID-19 Relief Fund in 2020 and the inaugural Spring Luncheon in 2022, which collectively raised more than $700,000. She is partnering with sta to guide the agency through an organizational brand assessment. Timmons is practice chief operating o cer of global family and private investment o ce services at Northern Trust.

DAVID TROPP Chair

Metropolitan Family Services

David Tropp has served as MFS’ lead expert on all of its major real estate purchases and leases for more than three decades. During his tenure as vice chair, MFS increased the number of individuals served to 136,000 in scal year 2022 from 93,000 in scal year 2019. As the client population grew, his counsel enabled MFS, which has more than 30 locations, to expand strategically and negotiate quality facilities within nonpro t budgets. He serves on the Head Start oversight board, helping MFS provide the best early-learning services for families, and is the board’s lead on Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation, a Chicago Community Trust initiative focused on racial healing. Tropp is an executive vice president at CBRE.

LYNN WATKINS-ASIYANBI

Chair

Women Employed

Women Employed works to e ect policy change, improve access to educational opportunities and create inclusive workplaces. Lynn Watkins-Asiyanbi stepped into the chair role in July 2020 after the retirement of a longtime board member, navigated the transition despite COVID challenges and is developing a strategic plan to push WE into new areas. e organization rethought its board composition and is incorporating racial equity into internal practices and advocacy e orts. e team identi ed a need for a dedicated HR professional, support on the development side, and competitive wages and bene ts for employees. Watkins-Asiyanbi is senior vice president, chief administrative and legal o cer, and corporate secretary of CECO Environmental.

MARIA WYNNE Board president Goodman Theatre

During the pandemic, Maria Wynne and the leadership team worked to ensure the theater remained operational, kept 170 sta members and 450 artists employed, and reopened earlier than many similar institutions. Putting a commitment to equity and inclusion into action, the team brought performing arts to Chicago neighborhoods by producing “Zulema” with the city’s Park District, the Department of Cultural A airs, the Chicago Latino eater Alliance and the National Museum of Mexican Art. Wynne co-helmed the search for an artistic director and established the Goodman Civic Council, a think tank of nonpro t and foundation leaders for input on business decisions and community outreach. Wynne is CEO of Leadership Greater Chicago.

DOYOUNG “DO” YONG Board member at large Cara Collective

Do Yong serves in several ways at Cara Collective, which o ers a pathway out of poverty for motivated job seekers. One was helping to onboard a new CEO, Kathleen Caliento, who started in July 2021. Another was chairing a 2022 committee to refresh Cara’s overall strategy, focusing on physical expansion as well as developing collaborations with area employers to create a more robust jobs pipeline. Yong, a partner with Deloitte Tax, leaned into the governance of Cara’s nancial stability and facilitated introductions to Deloitte professionals who now perform pro bono services. She also engaged a team to participate in Deloitte’s Impact Day of Community Service in June.

Property taxes will burden homeowners more than commercial real estate

In the zero-sum world of property taxes, the shift in creases the odds that more homeowners in Chicago will pay higher taxes this year than some officials expected a few months ago.

e small change—just 0.7 percentage points—suggests a status quo result, but it rep resents a major victory for the city’s commercial real estate industry, which was bracing

last week, believes commercial properties in the county have been underassessed for a long time, pushing too much of the tax burden onto homeowners. Many landlords gripe that he’s out to get them to curry favor with voters, arguing that his as sessments are scaring away in vestors and hurting the Chicago economy.

But landlords have an ally in the county Board of Review, a three-person panel where prop erty owners can challenge the

gate will pick up a slightly big ger share of the overall property tax tab in Chicago than they did in 2021. Kaegi’s assessments re duced the residential share of the overall tax burden to 46.2% this year from 52.1% last year, according to the report.

Nonresidential property own ers, meanwhile, would have ac counted for 53.8% of the city’s property tax base under Kaegi’s assessments, up from 47.9% last year.

As a second step in the ap peals process, the Board of Re view always reduces property values originally set by the as sessor. But it’s “absolutely un precedented” that the board went as far as it did, Kaegi said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has depressed values of many office and retail properties, but oth ers, including data centers and industrial buildings, have actu ally increased in value over the past few years, he said.

on assessed values makes for good politics, by shifting the burden away from homeown ers, but bad math. He argues that the board uses a process for assessing commercial prop erties that has been widely ac cepted for a long time, and Kae gi doesn’t

“It’s just a different method ology,” O’Shields said. “There’s nothing nefarious about it.”

for big tax hikes after Kaegi re assessed the city last year. He jacked up assessments on Chi cago nonresidential properties by 53.7% in 2021 while increas ing residential assessments by just 21.7%.

Kaegi, who took over as asses sor in 2018 and was re-elected

assessor’s valuations. e board uses a di erent valuation meth odology for commercial proper ties that is much more friendly to landlords than Kaegi’s.

he Board of Review wiped out Kaegi’s increases on nonresi dential properties so much that city homeowners in the aggre

But the Board of Review flipped the burden back onto homeowners, who now shoul der 52.8% of the city’s tax bur den, with nonresidential prop erty owners carrying 47.2%. The board’s beneficiaries include Donald Trump’s Chicago ho tel. Kaegi’s office valued the 339-room riverside property at $105.3 million, but the Board of Review cut its value to $73 mil lion.

Asked for his reaction to the Board of Review’s actions, Kae gi didn’t hide his frustration.

“Pick your adjective for shocked. Flabbergasted? Horri fied?” he said.

“The property tax base is very distorted as a result of (the board’s) changes,” Kaegi said.

SHIFT IN TAXES

The changes will shift hun dreds of millions of dollars of property taxes onto Chicago homeowners that would have been paid by nonresidential property owners under Kaegi’s assessments, he said. Individu al property owners will find out how much they owe in proper ty taxes when the county posts bills online this week.

William O’Shields, chief dep uty commissioner at the Board of Review, said Kaegi’s position

Kaegi and the Board of Re view have developed an adver sarial relationship, pointing fin gers at each other as it became clear that property tax bills in the county would be late this year. But Kaegi is encouraged that two of the board’s three members are leaving after los ing re-election bids this year.

Kaegi also plans to reset values on some Chicago commercial properties this year to bring them closer to his original assess ments. at’s a break from the past: Typically, the assessor val ues properties in the county once every three years, but Kaegi has decided to make an exception in Chicago in response to the Board of Review’s reductions.

Chicago players in cryptocurrencies will feel shock waves from FTX bankruptcy

FTX brie y had its U.S. head quarters in Chicago but moved to Miami in September, when its Chicago-based U.S. president, Cit adel Securities veteran Brett Har rison, left the company.

Crypto investors on social me dia are wondering who will end up holding the bag after FTX’s de mise.

Jump Crypto, which has 170 employees led by University of Illinois alum Kanav Kariya, took the unusual step Nov. 17 of tweet ing: “Jump Crypto is not shutting down. We believe we’re one of the most well-capitalized and liquid rms in crypto. We are still actively investing and trading.”

Previously, Jump had tweeted: “We, like all of you, were shocked by the events that unfolded over the past week. Jump’s exposure to FTX was managed in accordance with our risk framework and we remain well capitalized.”

DRW’s Cumberland cryptotrading unit wrote in a tweet Nov. 16 that its exposure to FTX was less than $10 million and it had “zero exposure to either Alameda or BlockFi.”

A week earlier, it had tweeted: “Much will be uncovered about what happened, and we’ll wel come participation in those con versations. For today, however, our focus is squarely on serving our counterparties as they navi gate what we expect will continue to be a volatile market.”

A DRW spokeswoman declined to comment further.

More broadly, the FTX woes could make mainstream investors and nancial markets more cau tious about crypto.

“ e impact on the tradition

al market will be slowing down adoption, investment and innova tion in traditional o erings tied to crypto,” says Sarit Markovich, who teaches a ntech course at Kellogg School of Management at North western University.

IMPACTS ON CBOE, CME

When it comes to Chicago’s tra ditional nancial markets, Cboe has the larger presence in crypto, dealing for crypto exchange ErisX a year ago. e deal, allowing trad ers to use Cboe to buy and sell crypto futures as well as the to kens themselves on a spot market, closed in May at what was up to then one of the worst moments for digital assets.

It wasn’t long after the deal was completed that Cboe concluded it had overpaid substantially for ErisX. It took a noncash $461 mil lion write-o on the investment at the end of the second quarter, ac cording to a Securities & Exchange Commission ling. Cboe hadn’t disclosed the value it placed on ErisX when it agreed to acquire it, but the write-o amounts to well over half of the purchase price based on investor disclosures.

Tax e ects blunted the impact of the write-down to the net car rying value of ErisX by about $116 million.

Still, the rationale for the de cision was sobering and under scores the recent changes in the crypto market, which include the crash of cryptocurrency Terra Luna and bankruptcy in July of crypto hedge fund ree Arrows.

“Negative events and trends in the broader digital asset en vironment emerged, such as deleveraging and bankruptcies, and certain negative trends in the broader digital asset environment

which emerged in late 2021 inten si ed, such s the decline in digital asset prices, overall market ac tivity, and market capitalization,” Cboe’s ling stated. “Additionally, following the acquisition of Cboe Digital (formerly ErisX), the ef forts to syndicate minority own ership interests in Cboe Digital to potential investors during the quarter ended June 30, 2022, be came more challenging, and the outlook for the digital segment’s future market growth was nega tively impacted.”

Late last year, Cboe was fore casting to investors that the digital unit would generate compound annual growth of 25% over the next three to ve years. In August, Cboe did attract a group of mi nority investors in its digital unit, despite its struggles earlier in the

summer. at coincided with a few months’ period of calm for crypto values after the chaos of the spring.

Cboe says it remains bullish on the long-term future of its digital unit. “Now, more than ever, mar ket participants need a trusted, transparent and regulated mar ketplace, underpinned by re sponsible innovation and the val ue that intermediaries (including future commission merchants) provide, which are tenets upon which we’ve built Cboe Digital,” a spokeswoman said in an email.

“As testament to the utility of our platform, Cboe Digital set a new single-day volume record of $228.1 million in notional value traded (on Nov. 10). We look for ward to continuing working with our planned equity partners to

accelerate the growth of our plat form and launching our new mar gin futures product in the coming months, pending (regulatory) ap proval.”

At CME, more than 207,000 crypto-related contracts, includ ing bitcoin and ether, traded Nov. 8, a spokeswoman said. at’s still a drop in the bucket compared with overall trading volume at CME. Average daily volume in Oc tober was 22.7 million contracts. Over the longer haul, though, CME may see lower trading vol umes on crypto derivatives if the sector shrinks overall, just as Cboe apparently has recognized.

“Our goal is always to provide the tools that can help investors manage risk in all environments,” spokeswoman Laurie Bischel said in an email.

KAEGI BELIEVES COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES IN THE COUNTY HAVE BEEN UNDERASSESSED FOR A LONG TIME, PUSHING TOO MUCH OF THE TAX BURDEN ONTO HOMEOWNERS.

WEI LENG TAY/BLOOMBERG

Cboe says it remains bullish on the long-term future of its digital unit.

CLASSIFIEDS

AUCTIONS

and sell out or go public at a higher price. In that scenario, returns on the slice of equity used to fund the original investment often far ex ceed typical stock market returns. But if all doesn’t go well, privateequity successes can sour quickly. e current economic climate of slowing growth, rising interest rates and tight credit is turning buyout debt into an unsustainable burden for some private-equity-backed companies. For example, concerns about whether Palatine-based grill maker Weber—taken public by Byron Trott’s BDT Capital just over a year ago—would be able to re nance debt led BDT recently to lend the company $60 million and o er to take it private again at a substan tial loss to public shareholders.

Banks focused on the biggest private-equity deals—think Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase—have pulled back on nancing deals for large buyout rms like New York giants Apollo Global Management and Clayton Dubilier & Rice. Locally, B of A and Citi led a syndicate of banks that got caught holding billions in debt for Apollo’s acquisition of Lake Forest-based auto parts maker Tenneco. ey are expected to absorb hundreds of mil lions in losses on those loans.

DEAL DROP-OFF

e near-freeze now on large leveraged loans like those in the Tenneco buyout recently led oma Bravo, a private-equity rm with o ces in San Francisco and Chicago, to nance a $2.3 billion purchase of software rm Forg eRock without debt, e ectively do ing the deal only with its own cash, Bloomberg reported.

er that would have advanced $500 million six months ago now will commit to maybe half that.

“ e big shift is really the size of the commitments they’re making,” says Jim Bonetti, managing direc tor and head of capital markets at GTCR.

e drop-o in deal activity this year has been stark. For 34 Chicagoarea rms with funds larger than $1 billion, deals through October of this year have dropped to 59 from 446 in the same period of 2021, according to PitchBook data com piled by Solomon Partners, an in vestment bank specializing in pri vate equity. Just 11 this year so far have been “platform” deals, meant to establish a foothold in an in dustry, which owners can expand through subsequent deals.

ere were 58 platform deals in 2021, totaling nearly $50 billion in enterprise value. is year’s 11 have amounted collectively to just $2.5 billion.

track records still are going to be able to attract capital fairly easi ly. e newer funds or the funds that are trying to take a step or two up—say, you want to go from a $500 million fund to $1.5 bil lion and you need to attract new investors—they’re not getting much mind share right now.”

One of those longer-tenured rms, GTCR, apparently isn’t an ticipating lower investor demand. It’s targeting a haul of $9.5 billion for its upcoming Fund XIV, the Wall Street Journal reported. GTCR declined to comment.

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Madison Dearborn, which has $3.4 billion left to invest from a $5 billion fund raised in 2021, has made one platform deal from that fund this year, down from four last year.

e rm con rmed those numbers but declined to comment further.

GTCR’s $7.9 billion fund raised in 2020 has $5.6 billion left to invest.

Private-equity rms also need to worry about companies they already own. Most private-equity buyout debt carries oating interest rates that adjust upward in a rising rate environment. is squeezes companies’ pro t margins, perhaps forcing them to lay o workers and take other cost-cutting measures, as Weber has done. And if the wide ly anticipated recession material izes, private-equity returns could come under more pressure as rms are forced to sell acquired compa nies at a lower price, or wait longer to cash out.

GLOBAL POLYMER GROUP

Observers expect the biggest and most experienced buyout teams to navigate the new landscape without having to return cash to investors. But future returns are less likely to hit the 20%-plus target they’ve achieved in recent years, because rms will have to put more equity into deals, muting the impact of leverage on returns. Lower returns, combined with the high fees rms charge, could cause big money managers to invest less in private equity.

CAREER OPPORTUNITES

CIBC’s Hague forecasts a chal lenging next six months as audited nancials for companies owned by private-equity rms are released, and covenants on some of those companies’ debts are violated. at will lead to uncomfortable conversations about re nancing or various steps banks will pres sure borrowers to take.

Lenders are still willing to nance deals for midsize compa nies, which make up the lion’s share of private-equity activity. But terms have tightened, and a lend

“Investors are getting more se lective,” says Tim Shea, head of business services for Solomon Partners in Chicago. “ e privateequity rms with longer and better

e potential silver lining for buyout rms: Sellers’ price expec tations, which haven’t budged even as public market valuations fell, may come down. at could get the deal engine sputtering to life again.

Says GTCR’s Bonetti, “We’ve found periods of market disloca tion can present the most attrac tive times to invest.”

Crain’s talks to CEOs from top hospital systems about the future of business in healthcare. Post-covid management concerns, the talent shortage, legislative rulings and other matters will be addressed. Katherine Davis moderates the discussion featuring leaders from Advocate Aurora, Cook County Hospital, Rush, and the University of Chicago.

Dr. Omar Lateef Rush University System for Health and Rush University Medical Center

Dr. Mark E. Anderson University of Chicago

Israel Rocha, Jr. Cook County Health

Jim Skogsberg Advocate Aurora Health

Generous tax breaks sway developers to comply with affordable housing rules

After grumbling for years about the city’s a ordable housing rules—known as the A ordable Requirements Ordinance, or ARO—residential developers have found a way to live with them even after the City Council passed tougher regulations last year.

at’s because lawmakers in Spring eld also last year approved generous property tax breaks for residential projects with a 20% a ordable set-aside. Combined with the state’s carrot, the city’s regulatory stick now works a lot better. Projects that wouldn’t have made nancial sense without the tax incentive do now.

“ ere is terri c alignment between the ARO and the state legislation,” says Chicago attorney Rich Klawiter, partner and co-vice chair of the U.S. real estate practice at DLA Piper.

It’s way too early to declare victory, but the numbers are adding up in the West Loop, where developers will complete about 3,500 apartments between now and the end of 2024, with nearly 9,000 more in the planning phase, according to Integra Realty Resources, an appraisal and consulting rm.

To comply with the revised ARO and qualify for tax abatements, numerous developers this year have led zoning applications with the city for projects in the West Loop that include all 20% of their a ordable units on-site. at includes a 305-unit tower that Chicagobased Shapack Partners plans at Fulton and Ada streets and a 271-unit building that Cedar Street, another Chicago developer, is proposing for the current site of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.

Golub, meanwhile, has led plans for two West Loop projects: the 400-unit high-rise at 1234 W. Randolph St. and another one with 362 apartments at 301 S. Green St. that will include 73 a ordable units.

“Without the (tax break), these deals are exceedingly di cult to pencil,” says Golub Senior Vice President Collin McKenna.

SHIFTING MOMENTUM

If the city and state programs work as intended, they could advance one of Lightfoot’s biggest priorities: creating more housing for middle- and lower-income residents, including people of color, in wealthier, safer neighborhoods. So the ARO is not just an a ordable housing program. Lightfoot believes it can right past wrongs, including racist housing policies.

“It is rst and foremost our chief desegregation tool in the city,” says Chicago Housing Commissioner Marisa Novara.

Yet a shifting market threatens to slow or stall whatever momentum may be building. Apartment developers have had the wind at their backs the past several years, with soaring rents boosting pro t margins on their projects. But rising interest rates and tougher nancing criteria have already cast a chill over the market and could postpone or even kill many developments. Rent growth is slowing. High construction costs aren’t helping, either.

“You’ve got everything working against you,” says Jim Letchinger, founder and CEO of Chicago-based JDL Development.

Under the ARO, a residential developer that obtains a zoning change or other bene t from the city for a major project must include a certain percentage of a ordable units in the building. Developers have never liked the ordinance because it puts the burden of building a ordable housing on them. ey argue that inclusionary housing ordinances like the ARO actually make housing less a ordable by discouraging residential construction. Requiring developers to include a certain amount of a ordable housing in

Rendering of the proposed tower at 1234 W. Randolph St.

How it works: A

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ORDINANCE

change from the city for a large

to set aside a certain number of units as a ordable to low- and moderate-income residents. In the West Loop, 20% of units must be a ordable to households who earn $62,520—60% of area median income. But developers can build half the a ordable homes at an o -site location.

The problem: By limiting what developers can charge for one- fth of their units, the ARO depresses their rental revenue and pro t. The ordinance thus acts as a disincentive to build.

The solution: Tax breaks. Illinois lawmakers and Gov. J.B. Pritzker last year approved property tax incentives to developers that set aside 20% or more of their new units as a ordable, provided all of them are on-site. The program limits property assessment increases for 30 years, reducing future tax expenses and o setting the revenue hit from the ARO.

The result: Developers have led plans for thousands of apartments in the West Loop over the past year, the vast majority with 20% of their a ordable apartments on-site. Though it’s hard to draw a direct connection between the development proposals and the state tax incentives, it’s a good sign suggesting that the ARO and state program are complementing each other as intended.

The new problem: Development is slowing amid rising interest rates and a cooling lending climate, meaning it could be a long wait for the delivery of many a ordable units.

projects reduces rent they can collect. at lowers their pro ts—and their incentive to build, developers say.

But housing advocates have argued that

quirement by paying “in-lieu” fees to the city instead of building the a ordable housing themselves. e city tightened the ordinance in 2015, and Lightfoot pushed through more changes last year.

DIFFERENT OPTIONS

In the West Loop today, 20% of the units in a development subject to the revised ARO must be a ordable to households who earn 60% of the area median income. In Chicago, 60% works out to $62,520 annually for a family of four.

Developers must include at least half the a ordable units in the project and can build the rest o -site. Yet many today are choosing to build all 20% on-site. e reason: To qualify for one of the new property tax incentives, a project must meet the 20% threshold onsite.

e math is compelling to JDL. e developer and a partner, Fulton Street Cos., are exploring their options for a 433-unit apartment tower at 1201 W. Fulton St.

Without the tax break, “the numbers didn’t work,” Letchinger says. “By applying the tax savings, it gets better. It de nitely gets better.”

For developers, the property tax savings o set the revenue they lose by charging below-market rents on 20% of their apartments. Under the state program, a developer that sets aside 20% of units as a ordable to tenants at 60% of area median income quali es for a 30-year reduction in the building’s property tax assessments.

e property's assessed value, which is used to calculate taxes, is frozen at the predevelopment level initially, so the developer does not have to pay taxes on the tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars of additional property value created by the project. e assessment steps up over time, with an 80% reduction from the property's true value at year four, a 60% reduction at year seven and so on.

e city is setting an even higher goal for the north end of Fulton Market, aiming for a ordable units to account for 30% of all housing built north of Lake Street. But rather than mandating the 30% target for speci c projects, the city is trying to achieve it through a combination of incentives and nancing mechanisms, like low-income housing tax credits.

One of the City Council’s most vocal affordable housing advocates, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, also thinks the city can do better. He believes 30% a ordability is attainable for some projects and aims to set the bar at that level for one pending project in his ward, at 16th and La in streets.

“ ere’s a possibility to set a precedent,” he says.

While still low, the numbers are moving in the right direction. Citywide, developers have built 340 ARO units on-site this year, up from 242 last year and 213 in 2020, according to the Chicago Department of Housing. Developers of another 959 on-site a ordable units have received the department’s approval but have yet to break ground.

e city is trying to avoid rigid requirements with its ARO, creating a variety of options that work for di erent projects in di erent neighborhoods, Novara says. Right now, however, most of the action is in the West Loop, a magnet for residential developers like Related Midwest.

the ARO, which was created in 2003, included too many loopholes for developers, undermining its e ectiveness. For many years, for instance, developers could meet their re-

e Chicago-based rm is testing out the 80% market-rate/20% a ordable on-site structure with a 300-unit apartment tower it’s building at 900 W. Randolph St. e property’s rst residents will start moving in as early as April, says Related Midwest President Curt Bailey.

“We want it to be a model of how 80/20s can work in Chicago,” he says. “We want to do a lot more of them.”

Rendering of the proposed tower at 301 S. Green St.

developer

requests

zoning

residential project must agree

 THE CHICAGO AFFORDABLE REQUIREMENTS

A little nip and tuck for comfort and glamour

BY DENNIS RODKIN

When one member of a couple is a cosmetic sur geon, it may be inevitable that their new home would get a nip and tuck.

After Jillian and Michael Horn bought a newly built house in Glenview in 2020, she made some changes that were functional and some that brought in sizzle. And she’s not even the cosmetic surgeon—he is. She’s in the social media advertising business.

Among the functional changes were creating a mud room and a walk-in pantry out of one of the two laundry rooms and turning an open space in the basement into a walled-o bedroom. e sizzle-enhancing changes included turning up the glam in the dining room with gold-speckled wallpaper and a dazzling light xture. In her most eye-catching alteration, Jillian Horn put a oor-to-ceiling, glass-walled wine chilling room in the family room.

e couple bought the Lincoln Street house, about 5,000 square feet including six bedrooms, for themselves and their two kids just two years ago. ey’re now opening a second business in Florida, Jillian Horn says, and because of all the traveling, they want to move their Chicago-area home closer to his o ce on North Michigan Avenue. e Horns put the house on the market Nov. 8, priced at just under $1.75 million. It’s represented by James Larson of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Chicago.

The Glenview home of a cosmetic surgeon and an advertising rep bene ted from some reconstructive work. Now it’s for sale for $1.75 million. Take a photo tour. I