Rahm Emanuel rewards backers with board appointments

SHARE Rahm Emanuel rewards backers with board appointments

Mayor Rahm Emanuel taps backers and friends for city board appointments he made on Friday. Naming supporters to city boards and commissions is an easy payback.

Did not have a chance to detail all the connections; I did want to get the list up so everyone can take a look as the July 4 weekend starts.

E-mail connected dots to me at lsweet@suntimes.com.

MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENTS TO CITY OF CHICAGO BOARDS

Today, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced his appointments to the Chicago Police Board; Chicago Park District Board; Illinois International Port District Board; Commission on Chicago Landmarks Board; Zoning Board of Appeals; Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning Board; and the Illinois Medical District Commission.

“My administration is dedicated to providing the people of Chicago with the highest quality and most efficient services,” said Mayor Emanuel. “I am recommending these individuals for these positions with the confidence that they will help achieve this goal through the agencies they will support.”

Chicago Police Board

William Conlon

William Conlon is a former Assistant United States Attorney in Chicago, where he was involved in criminal investigations and prosecutions. Previously, Conlon served as Chief of the Civil Division of the United States Attorney’s Office. He is currently a partner at the Chicago office of Sidley Austin LLP. Conlon has worked on cases including antitrust, ERISA, securities laws, banking and bank regulatory issues, telecommunications, accountants’ liability, insurance and insurance regulatory issues, utilities law, as well as a variety of complex commercial individual and class action cases.

Demetrius E. Carney

Demetrius E. Carney is currently the Chicago Police Board president. A partner at Perkins Coie, he focuses on creating partnerships between local government agencies and private sector clients to stimulate economic development. Carney has more than 35 years of experience in public finance, business, real estate and government relations. Over the course of his career, Carney has represented local and national developers involved with land acquisition, zoning and financing for commercial real estate developments.

Susan L. McKeever

Susan L. McKeever is principal and founder of the law firm Susan L. McKeever, Attorney at Law. In 2009, she was appointed as principal of the accounting and management consulting firm of Washington, Pittman & McKeever, LLC. Prior to founding her law firm, McKeever served as an associate at Sidley Austin LLP in Chicago for three years. McKeever serves on multiple Chicago boards including The Civic Federation of Chicago, Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago, and ChiArts Chicago Public School for the Arts. She was asked by Governor Ryan to serve as a board member of the Illinois State Board of Investment. McKeever received her Bachelor’s degree from Amherst College and her J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law.

Elisa Rodriguez

Elisa Rodriguez is an attorney at Carrey Services in Cicero, Illinois. She volunteers at the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago, providing legal assistance to Spanish-speaking clients. Rodriquez graduated from Robert Morris University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Management. She received her J.D. from IIT’s Kent College of Law in 2009 and her Masters of Public Administration from IIT’s Stuart School of Business in 2010.

The Reverend Johnny L. Miller

The Reverend Johnny L. Miller currently serves as pastor of Mt. Vernon Missionary Baptist Church. In addition to his pastoral role, Reverend Miller is the president of both the United Baptist State Convention of Illinois and the Baptist Ministers Fellowship of Chicago & Vicinity. He is the chairman of the International Affairs Ministry, a part of National Baptist Convention U.S.A., Inc. Reverend Miller formerly was a member on the African American Advisory Council for the Treasurer of the State of Illinois. Reverend Miller graduated from the Chicago Baptist Institute in 1976. He received his doctorate in divinity from Bishop College in Texas.

Scott Davis

Scott Davis currently serves as the Vice President of the Chicago Police Board. He is a Partner at Mayer Brown LLP, a Chicago-based law firm, and is the head of its U.S. Mergers and Acquisitions group. Davis joined Mayer Brown after serving as a law clerk to The Honorable Luther M. Swygert of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He received his J.D. from Harvard Law School and earned his Bachelor’s degree from Yale University.

Chicago Park District Board

Laird Koldyke

Laird Koldyke is a co-founder and managing partner of Winona Capital Management, LLC, a Chicago based private investment firm. Before founding Winona Capital, Koldyke was a partner at Frontenac Company, a Chicago based private equity firm, where he spent 14 years focusing on acquisitions and growth financings of consumer based businesses. Prior to Frontenac, Koldyke was with the IBM Corporation in the National Marketing Division in Los Angeles and Chicago. Koldyke currently serves on the boards of Top Driver, LLC and Laird Norton Company, LLC. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and earned his master’s degree at Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern.

Avis LaVelle

Avis LaVelle is currently President of A. LaVelle Consulting Services LLC. Prior to founding her firm, LaVelle was a senior partner at The Foster Group, a Chicago-based IT consulting firm. LaVelle began her career as a reporter in Chicago and has served as vice president of government and public affairs for the University of Chicago Hospitals and vice president of communications for the Chicago Department Waste Management. LaVelle has served on the Chicago Cable Commission since 2003; prior to that, she served seven years, five as vice president, on the Chicago Schools Reform Board of Trustees. On a national level, LaVelle served as a Press Secretary on President Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign and then as an assistant secretary for public affairs for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Juan Salgado

Juan Salgado is the President and CEO of Instituto del Progreso Latino, which supports Latino immigrants and their families through education, job skills training and assistance with employment opportunities. In 2010 he was presented with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund’s Excellence in Community Service Award. Salgado is a member of the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council Executive Board, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and Leadership Greater Chicago Board of Directors, and the Adler School of Professional Psychology Board of Trustees. Through the Institute for Mexicans Abroad, he served as an advisor to the President of Mexico. Salgado holds a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Illinois Wesleyan University.

Illinois International Port District Board

Terrence Fitzmaurice

Terrence Fitzmaurice is currently the Business Manager and Secretary Treasurer of Painters’ District Council #194. He has been active since becoming a member, serving as Conductor, Trustee, Vice-President, and President to Local 194. Fitzmaurice began his apprenticeship working with Ruffalo Painting while attending Washburne Trade School, graduating in 1981. A year later, he began working with the City of Chicago at O’Hare International Airport.

Charles R. Bowen

Charles R. Bowen is a successful executive with more than 50 years of experience in political government, serving most recently as Executive Assistant to the former Mayor of Chicago. Previously, Bowen served on the Cook County Board as a Commissioner and later as Clerk. While on the Board, Bowen chaired the Committees on Construction & Maintenance and Tax Delinquency. Bowen received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Clark College and completed the University of Chicago Criminal Law Administration program.

Reverend Daniel Alvarez Sr.

The Reverend Daniel Alvarez Sr. has worked to help Chicago families throughout his career, first as the commissioner of Chicago’s Department of Human Services and then as Director of Casa Central, the Midwest’s largest Hispanic social service agency. In 1975, he founded the Hispanic Housing Development Corporation, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing affordable housing to thousands of Chicago residents. Alvarez earned his Bachelor’s degree at the Institute de Santa Clara, Cuba and his Master’s in Social Work at the University of Havana.

Henry Wisniewski

Henry Wisniewski is a veteran who served in the United States Army from 1969 to 1971. He has been a Court Reporter for the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission since 1976 and has worked with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office as a Transportation Control and Documentation Specialist. Mr. Wisniewski received his Associate degree from the Chicago College of Commerce.

Michael K. Forde

Michael K. Forde is a Partner at Mayer Brown LLP, where he focuses on commercial litigation in state and federal courts and before various regulatory agencies. Previously, he served as Law Clerk to the Honorable Mary Ann G. McMorrow of the Supreme Court of Illinois and Law Clerk to the Honorable Charles P. Kocoras of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Forde earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, his MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and received his Bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University.

Commission on Chicago Landmarks Board

Rafael Leon

Rafael Leon is the current Chair of the Commission on Landmarks. Mr. Leon serves as the executive director of the Chicago Metropolitan Housing Development Corps (CMHDC), a Community Facilities organization that develops, redevelops, owns, and manages affordable rental properties throughout the City of Chicago.

Mary Ann Smith

Mary Ann Smith served as Alderman of Chicago’s 48th Ward from 1989 to 2011. As Alderman, Smith championed the environment and served as chairman of the City Council Committee on Parks. Her leadership on environmental issues earned her a United Nations Environment Programme Award for Citizen Action to Protect the Global Environment. Smith helped to organize state’s first city/suburban traffic and transportation study and organize the Walkable Edgewater campaign. Smith also serves on the city’s Advisory Council on Chicago Green Development.

Dr. Anita Blanchard

Dr. Anita Blanchard is an Associate Professor of Obstetrics/Gynecology at the University of Chicago Medical Center. A native and current resident of the south side of Chicago, Blanchard has launched several programs aimed at providing health access and information to community members across the city. Blanchard is a graduate of the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago, and conducted her residency at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Jim Houlihan

Jim Houlihan is the former Cook County Assessor. Prior to being elected Assessor, Houlihan served three terms in the Illinois State Legislature and was administrative assistant to Chicago Mayor Harold Washington. He attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary before attending St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, where he graduated with a B.A. in Philosophy and an S.T.B. in Theology.

Tony Hu

Tony Hu currently serves as the Vice President of the Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. He is also a leading chef and the founder of Tony Gourmet Group, a restaurant chain dedicated to authentic Chinese cuisine. The Tony Gourmet Group includes four restaurants in Chicago (Lao Sze Chuan, Lao Beijing, Lao Shanghai and Lao You Ju) as well as branches in Downers Grove, Illinois and Milford, Connecticut.

Ernest C. Wong

Ernest C. Wong is the co-founder and principal of Site Design Group, Ltd., one of Chicago’s most influential landscape architecture firms. Chicago parks designed by the Site Design Group include Ping Tom Park in Chinatown and the Stearns Quarry in the Bridgeport Neighborhood. Ernest Wong sits on the board of numerous public service and professional organizations, including the Driehaus Award for Architectural Excellence in Community Design and the Near South Planning Board.

Chicago Zoning Board of Appeals

Michael Ivers

Michael Ivers currently serves as a CTA Commissioner and is the president of Goodcity (formerly known as MidAmerica Leadership Foundation). Ivers served as a Roman Catholic priest in Chicago for 27 years. He was the pastor of both St. Agatha Parish and Holy Family Church on Roosevelt Road, as well as Dean of Deanery III-D West Side of Chicago. Additionally, Ivers founded United Power for Action and Justice and has organized two tenant unions.

Sam Toia

Sam Toia is the current Chairman of the Illinois Restaurant Association and is the co-owner of the Chicago-area Leona Restaurants and Hop Haus Sports Pubs. For seven years, Toia served on the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority Board, focusing on Community and Government Relations/Affirmative Action. Toia is the former President of the Central Lakeview Merchants Association. He received his Bachelor’s degree from DePaul University.

Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning Board

Andrew Madigan

Andrew Madigan currently serves as a Vice President in the Insurance Services Division of Mesirow Financial. Through his work at Mesirow, Madigan specializes in developing comprehensive solutions for his clients in a diverse range industries including: local government, education and real estate. Prior to joining Mesirow, Madigan worked for the Chicago White Sox. Madigan earned his Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University.

Susan Campbell

Susan Campbell is currently an Associate Vice President at the University of Chicago where she works through the Office of Civic Engagement to advance community and city government relations to enhance the quality of life in Chicago’s mid-south side communities. Previously, Susan served as Partner and Vice President for Planning and Development of Campbell Tiu Campbell, Inc. She has served as a member on the Boards of Directors for the Near South Planning Board; the American Institute of Architects; the National Organization of Minority Architects; the Women in Planning and Development Board; Business and Professional People for the Public Interest (BPI); Quad Communities Development Corporation. Additionally, Campbell is the Chair of the 43rd/Cottage Grove T.I.F. Advisory Panel. Campbell received her Bachelor’s degree from Tufts University and earned two Master’s degrees from the University of Illinois and the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Illinois Medical District Commission Board

Daniel A. Trevino

Daniel A. Trevino is currently an attorney at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP. He practices primarily in the areas of product liability and transportation litigation. Trevino recently completed a two-year term on the Board of Directors of the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois (HLIAI) and he is also a member of the Chicago Bar Association. Trevino serves on the advisory committee for the mentorship program at his alma mater, St. Ignatius College Prep. He has served as a “Principal of the Day” through the Chicago Public Schools. Mr. Trevino is also the pro bono legal affairs director for the Edgebrook Community Association.

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