More than 400 Chicagoans, representing a wealth of diverse perspectives, are serving on 10 transition committees that are helping shape Mayor-elect Lightfoot’s administration as she prepares to take office on May 20th. Committee members are reaching out across Chicago, gathering fresh viewpoints from our city’s rich and diverse communities.
Their recommendations are published in a transition report, which is available on this website and will distributed to all Chicago public libraries.
The Transition Co-Chairs are:
Gloria Castillo
Chicago United
Angelique Power
Samir Mayekar
NanoGraf
Bob Reiter
Chicago Federation of Labor
Dr. Willie Wilson
Penny Pritzker
Sam Skinner
Greenberg Traurig
Maria Wynne
Leadership Greater Chicago
Committee Members & Memos
To inform discussions and create a lasting reservoir of ideas for the new administration, transition committee members prepared memos as part of the committee process. These memos reflect the perspectives that committee members are bringing to the process. Read each committee’s memos below.
Arts & Culture
Nick Cave (Co-Chair)
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Denise Gardner (Co-Chair)
Art Institute of Chicago
Lisa Yun Lee (Co-Chair)
National Public Housing Museum
Carlos Tortolero (Co-Chair)
National Museum of Mexican Art
Miguel Aguilar
Graffiti Institute
Steve Cohen
Chicago Media Project
Amina Dickerson
Dickerson Global Advisors
Hector Duarte
Chicago Public Art Group
David Feiner
Albany Park Theater Project
Theaster Gates
Rebuild Foundation
Hallie Gordon
Steppenwolf Theatre
Esther Grimm
3arts
Akilah Halley
Marwen
Monica Haslip
Little Black Pearl
Evan Hatfield
Chicago Cultural Accessibility Consortium
Heather Ireland Robinson
Jazz Institute of Chicago
Terryl Jares
Chicago Federation of Musicians
Kevin Iega Jeff
Deeply Rooted Dance Theater/Productions
Omar Magana
OPEN Center for the Arts
Billy Ocasio
National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture
Todd Palmer
Chicago Architecture Biennial
Lou Raizin
Broadway in Chicago
Joseph Robinson
Joe Freshgoods Inc.
Jacqueline Russell
Chicago Children’s Theatre
Joe Shanahan
Metro / Smartbar
Lauren Sivak
2nd Story
Willa Taylor
Goodman Theater
Katie Tuten
The Hideout and
Chicago Independent Venue League
Kristina Valada-Viars
Amanda Williams
Patrick Wood-Prince
Annandale LLC
Business, Economic and Neighborhood Development
Ric Estrada (Co-Chair)
Metropolitan Family Services
Meghan Harte (Co-Chair)
LISC
Maria Kim (Co-Chair)
Cara
Darnell Shields (Co-Chair)
Austin Coming Together
Rocky Wirtz (Co-Chair)
Chicago Blackhawks
Rev. Ira Acree
Greater St. John Bible Church
Paola Aguirre
Borderless Studios LLC
Brenda Palms Barber
North Lawndale Employment Network
MarySue Barrett
Metropolitan Planning Council
Andrew Beideman
Marcus Betts
University of Illinois at Chicago
Sandra Bivens
51st Street Business Association
Dr. Byron Brazier
Apostolic Church of God
Markell Bridges
Jose Cerda III
IFF
Jahmal Cole
My Block My Hood My City
Ed Coleman
Bethel New Life
Malcolm Crawford
Austin African American Business Networking Association
Jack Crowe
Year Up
Cherita Ellens
Women Employed Organization
Bill Fienup
mHUB
Phil Fuentes
McDonald’s Franchises
Chris Gladwin
P33 Tech initiative
Perry Gunn
Teamwork Englewood
Hermene Hartman
N’DIGO
Paul Lambert
Bank of America
Jack Lavin
Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
Marie Lynch
Skills for Chicagoland’s Future
Brad McConnell
Accion Chicago
David Merriman
University of Illinois at Chicago
Eileen Mitchell
AT&T Illinois
Matt Muench
Bill Niesman
IBEW Local 9
Julian Posada
The Resurrection Project
Teresa Rufaro Prim
Prim Lawrence Group
Nadia Quarles
University of Chicago
Lyneir Richardson
Chicago Trend
Charmaine Rickette
Uncle Remus Chicken
Shari Runner
The Humanity Institute
Neal Sáles-Griffin
Dawveed Scully
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Rebecca Yemin Shi
Illinois Business Immigration Council
Joel Simon
Council for Adult and Experiential Learning
Whitney Smith
JPMorgan Chase Foundation
Sam Toia
Illinois Restaurant Association
Tim Tuten
The Hideout
Jayne Vellinga
Chicago Women in Trades
Leon Walker
DL3 Realty
Christy Webber
Christy Webber & Company
Simone Weil
Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning
Betsy Ziegler
1871
Andrea Zopp
World Business Chicago
Education
Niketa Brar (Co-Chair)
Chicago United for Equity
Aarti Dhupelia (Co-Chair)
National Louis University
Dr. Sybil Madison (Co-Chair)
Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy
Sylvia Puente (Co-Chair)
Latino Policy Forum
Sandra Abrevaya
Thrive Chicago
Chad Adams
Sullivan High School
Jennifer Alexander
Metropolitan Family Services
Daniel Anello
Kids First Chicago
Karina Ayala-Bermejo
Instituto del Progreso Latino
Jennie Biggs
Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education
Meredith Bluhm Wolf
Lamb Partners
Dr. Mary Ellen Caron
After School Matters
Jason Coleman
Project SYNCERE
Greg Darnieder
The Partnership for College Completion
Sandy De León
Ounce of Prevention Fund
Mary Dempsey
DePaul College Prep
Juanita Douglas
Chicago Public Schools
Clarisol Duque
Office of U.S. Senator Dick Durbin
Alejandro Espinoza Olazaba
OneGoal
O’Koon Psychology Group
Acasia Wilson Feinberg
The Danielson Group
Cheryl Flores
Golden Apple Foundation
Sol Flores
State of Illinois
Maricela Garcia
Gads Hill Center
Phyllis Glink
Irving Harris Foundation
Cornelia Grumman
McCormick Foundation
Dr. Mildred Harris
God First Church and Ministries
Dr. Theresa Hawley
Illinois Action for Children
Sana Jafri
Chicago Learning Exchange
Constance Jones
Noble Network of Charter Schools
Dr. Steve Katsouros
Arrupe College of Loyola University Chicago
Imran Khan
Embarc Chicago
Ruth Kimble
Austin Childcare Providers’ Network
John Kozlar
Mimi LeClair
Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago
Phyllis Lockett
LEAP Innovations
Adelric McCain
Network for College Success, University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration
Dr. Luisiana Meléndez
Erikson Institute
Robin Melvin
MENTOR Illinois
Cameron Mock
State of Illinois, Governor’s Office of Management & Budget
Jenny Nagaoka
University of Chicago Consortium on School Research
Zena Naiditch
Equip for Equality
Katya Nuques
Enlace Chicago
Dr. Cristina Pacione Zayas
Erikson Institute
Dr. Alexios Rosario-Moore
Dr. Dilara Sayeed
vPeer
Carmita Semaan
Surge Institute
Fareeda Shabazz
Richard T. Crane Medical Prep High School
Natasha Smith-Walker
Project Exploration
Dr. Sonia Soltero
DePaul University
Paul Sznewajs
Ingenuity, Inc.
Karen VanAusdal
CASEL
Sheila Venson
Youth Connection Charter Schools
Ilana Zafran Walden
Umoja Student Development Corporation
Anthony Watson
Becoming A Man (BAM)
Maria Whelan
Illinois Action for Children
Environment
Joe Dominguez (Co-Chair)
ComEd
Suzanne Malec-McKenna (Co-Chair)
ConTextos
Anton Seals (Co-Chair)
Grow Greater Englewood
Jennifer Walling (Co-Chair)
Illinois Environmental Council
Gerald Adelmann
Openlands
Marcella Bondie Keenan
Center for Neighborhood Technology
Joel Brammeier
Alliance for the Great Lakes
Joyce Coffee
Climate Resilience Consulting
Josh Ellis
Metropolitan Planning Council
Don Finn
IBEW Local 134
Margaret Frisbie
Friends of the Chicago River
Seva Gandhi
Institute of Cultural Affairs
Benjamin Helphand
Neighborspace
Lisa Hyatt
Lincoln Park Zoo
Veronica Kyle
Faith in Place
Charles Matthews
Peoples Gas
Katie McClain
Energize Ventures
Dr. Jo Elle Mogerman
Shedd Aquarium
Josh Mogerman
Natural Resource Defense Council
Susan Mudd
Environmental Law and Policy Center
Uzma Noormohamed
Illinois Science and Energy Innovation Foundation
Antonia Ornelas
Elevate Energy
Mike Pagano
College of Urban Planning and Public Affaris, University of Illinois at Chicago
Danielle Perry
Growing Home Inc.
Grace Troccolo Rink
Quercus Consulting
Carina Ruiz
Audubon Great Lakes
Peggy Salazar
Southeast Environmental Task Force
Kari Steele
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
Edward Torrez
BauerLatoza Studio
Mijo Vodopic
Kim Wasserman
Little Village Environmental Justice Organization
Doug Widener
Lincoln Park Conservancy
Ernie Wong
Site Design Group
Kyra Woods
Sierra Club
Wendy Zeldin
Experimental Station
Good Governance
Khadine Bennett (Co-Chair)
ACLU Illinois
Ami Gandhi (Co-Chair)
Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights
Andrew Kang (Co-Chair)
Asian Americans Advancing Justice
Dick Simpson (Co-Chair)
University of Illinois at Chicago
Clem Balanoff
Amalgamated Transit Union and Our Revolution Chicago
Noelle Brennan
Noelle Brennan & Associates
Asiaha Butler
Resident Association of Greater Englewood
Marie Dillon
Better Government Association
Madeleine Doubek
CHANGE Illinois
Derek Eder
DataMade
Adam Gross
BPI
David Hoffman
Sidley Austin
Darryl Holliday
City Bureau
Mary Miro
Reform Illinois
David Orr
Former Alderman, Mayor of Chicago, and Cook County Clerk
Ameya Pawar
47th Ward, City of Chicago
Elliot Richardson
Small Business Advocacy Council
Rev. Saeed Richardson
Community Renewal Society
Abe Scarr
Illinois PIRG
Michael Shakman
Miller Shakman & Beem
Sendy Soto
Cook County Assessor’s Office
Remel Terry
NAACP West Side
Matt Topic
Loevy and Loevy
Stevie Valles
Chicago Votes
Griselda Vega Samuel
MALDEF
Audra Wilson
League of Women Voters
Jay Young
Common Cause IL
Health & Human Services
Evelyn Diaz (Co-Chair)
Heartland Alliance
Alexa James (Co-Chair)
NAMI Chicago
David Munar (Co-Chair)
Howard Brown Health
Jennifer Welch (Co-Chair)
Planned Parenthood
Christine Achre
Primo Center for Women and Children
Heather Higgins Alderman
Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation
David Ansell
Rush University Medical Center
Tom Britton
Gateway Foundation
Suzanne Carlberg-Racich
DePaul University
Arturo Carrillo
Saint Anthony Hospital
Kirstin Chernawsky
Erie Neighborhood House
Dr. Colleen Cicchetti
Center for Childhood Resilience
Esther Corpuz
Alivio Medical Center
Dr. Judith Cothran
Selma D’Souza
Indo-American Center
Karen Foley
Juvenile Protective Association
Dan Fulwiler
Esperanza Health Centers
Dr. Wayne Giles
University of Illinois at Chicago
Pastor Chris Harris
Brightstar Church of Chicago
Grace Hou
Illinois Department of Human Services
Mark Ishaug
Thresholds
Jeri Linas
Ignite: Futures with Promise
Nancy Loeb
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Roberta Lynch
AFSCME
Rosanna Marquez
AARP Illinois
Juan Morado
Benesch Law
Bela Moté
Carole Robertson Center for Learning
John Peller
AIDS Foundation of Chicago
Luvia Quiñones
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Roberta Rakove
Sinai Health System
Quinn Rallins
Justice, Equity and Opportunity Initiative, Office of Illinois Lieutenant Governor
Edgar Ramirez
Chicago Commons
Leticia Reyes Nash
Cook County Health and Hospitals System
Dr. Lorrie Rickman-Jones
Next Level Health
Jose Rico
United Way
Erica Salem
Respiratory Health Association
Elizabeth Salisbury-Afshar
Center for Multi-System Solutions to the Opioid Epidemic
Tina Sanders
Phalanx Family Services
Margie Schaps
Health & Medicine Policy Research Group
Dr. Jay Shannon
Cook County Health and Hospitals System
Martinez Sutton
Dr. Shastri Swaminathan
Advocate Health Systems
Kai Tao
Juno4Me
Donna Thompson
Access Community Health
Linda Xochitl Tortolero
Mujeres Latinas en Accion
Dr. Carolyn Vessel
I AM ABLE Center for Family Development
Jennifer Vidis
Chicago Department of Health
Kathy Waligora
Everthrive Illinois
Erin Walton
Resilience
Eli Williamson
Leave No Veteran Behind
Scott Winslow
fScott & Co.Healthcare Consultants
Housing
Angela Hurlock (Co-Chair)
Claretian Associates
Juan Carlos Linares (Co-Chair)
LUCHA
Paul Roldan (Co-Chair)
Hispanic Housing Development Corporation
Mark Angelini
Mercy Housing Lakefront
Joy Aruguete
Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation
Curt Bailey
Related Midwest
Jeff Bartow
Southwest Organizing Project
Betsy Benito
Corporation for Supportive Housing
Deborah Bennett
Ciere Boatright
Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives
Marca Bristo
Access Living
Debra Cafaro
Ventas, Inc.
Craig Chico
Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council
Jim Coyne
Plumbers Local 130
Felicia Dawson
Preservation of Affordable Housing
Andrew Geer
Enterprise Community Partners
Rob Grossinger
National Community Stabilization Trust
King Harris
Illinois Housing Development Authority
Calvin Holmes
Chicago Community Loan Fund
Kim Hunt
Pride Action Tank
Nicole Jackson
Applegate & Thorne-Thomsen
Courtney Jones
Dearborn Realtist
Mack Julion
National Association of Letter Carriers
Rafael Leon
Chicago Metropolitan Housing Development Corporation
Rami Nashashibi
Inner-City Muslim Action Network
Marisa Novara
Metropolitan Planning Council
Erika Poethig
Urban Institute
Raul Raymundo
The Resurrection Project
Brian Rowland
A Safe Haven LLC
James Rudyk
Northwest Side Housing Center
Doug Schenkelberg
Chicago Coalition for the Homeless
Britt Shawver
Housing Opportunities for Women
Mark Skender
Skender
Geoff Smith
DePaul University
Janet Smith
University of Illinois at Chicago
Steve Thomas
5T Management Inc.
Rev. Dr. Richard Tolliver
St. Edmund’s Redevelopment Corporation
Jaime Torres Carmona
Canopy / architecture + design, LLC
Richard Townsell
Lawndale Christian Development Corporation
Vivien Tsou
ONE Northside
Jessica Rose Wallace
Metropolitan Family Services
Stacie Young
Community Investment Corporation and The Preservation Compact
Public Safety & Accountability
Eddie Bocanegra (Co-Chair)
READI/Heartland Alliance
Lisa Madigan (Co-Chair)
Charles Ramsey (Co-Chair)
Presidential Task Force on 21st Century Community Policing
Nina Vinik (Co-Chair)
Thomas Abt
Harvard Kennedy School
Roseanna Ander
University of Chicago Crime and Education Labs
Phil Andrew
Archdiocese of Chicago
Pastor Randall Blakey
LaSalle Street Church
Rev. Dr. Beth Brown
Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church
Vaughn Bryant
Metropolitan Family Services
Amy Campanelli
Cook County Public Defender
Commander Ernest Cato
Chicago Police Department
Sheriff Tom Dart
Cook County Sheriff’s Office
Ahmadou Drame
Safer Foundation
Luis Gutierrez
Latinos Progresando
Sergeant Jermaine Harris
Chicago Police Department
Hnr. Terry Hillard
TGH Consultants, Inc.
Susan Johnson
Chicago Survivors
Captain Sean Joyce
Chicago Police Department
Norman Kerr
UCAN
Denise Lam
YMCA of Metro Chicago
Susan Lee
Chicago CRED
Becky Levin
Lurie Children’s Hospital
Tracey Meares
Yale University
William Michael
Mayer Brown
Sharone Mitchell
Illinois Justice Project
Dennis Mondero
Chinese Mutual Aid Association
Rev. Dr. Otis Moss
Trinity United Church of Christ
John O’Malley
William Blair & Company
Andrew Papachristos
Northwestern University
Father Michael Pfleger
Faith Community of Saint Sabina
Autry Phillips
Target Area DevCorp
Maria Pike
Everytown Survivor Network
Rebecca Raines
Chicago Westside NAACP
Leo Schmitz
Alicia Tate-Nadeau
Illinois Emergency Management Agency
Jim Tracy
Fire Fighters Local 2
Marny Zimmer
Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office
Transportation & Infrastructure
Duana Love (Co-Chair)
Roberto Requejo (Co-Chair)
Elevated Chicago
Ivan Solis (Co-Chair)
HACIA
Carol Ross Barney
Ross Barney Architects
Ron Burke
Active Transportation Alliance
Nancy Clawson
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Jim Connolly
Chicago Laborers’ District Council
Kirk Dillard
Regional Transportation Authority
Sharon Feigon
Shared-Use Mobility Center
Kitty Freidheim
Freidheim Consulting
Dr. Robert Ginsburg
Office of U.S. Congressman Jesús García
Billy Glunz
American Airlines
Jacky Grimshaw
Center for Neighborhood Technology
Derrick James
Amtrak
Vig Krishnamurthy
Ford Smart Mobility
Kristi LaFleur
Ascend Infrastructure
Ray LaHood
DLA Piper
Mary Rose Loney
The Loney Group LLC
Dr. Kate Lowe
University of Illinois at Chicago
Daniel Lynch
United Airlines
Fidel Marquez
ComEd
Angel Mendez
HERE Technologies
Wilbur Milhouse
Milhouse Engineering & Construction
David Narefsky
Mayer Brown
Carlos Nelson
Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation
Marc Poulos
Operating Engineers Local 150
Tom Powers
DB Sterlin
John Robak
Greeley & Hansen
Kimberly Slaughter
HNTB Corporation
Amber Smock
Access Living
Mike Sturino
Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association
Steven Vance
Cityscape/Streetsblog Chicago
Youth
Under the leadership of Mikva Challenge, diverse youth from organizations across the city are providing perspectives directly from those who have the most at stake in Chicago’s future: our young people. Their views will be part of the final transition report.
Mather High School, Mikva
Najae Oshibanjo (Co-Chair)
Bowen High School, Youth Guidance
Legal Advisory Council
Steve Elrod, Holland & Knight
James D. Montgomery, James D. Montgomery & Associates, Ltd.
David Narefsky, Mayer Brown
Jose Padilla, DePaul University
Amalia Rioja, Baker McKenzie
Better Together Chicago is an Illinois not for profit corporation operating under Section 501(c) 4 of the Internal Revenue Code. It is not a “political fundraising committee” as defined in the Chicago Governmental Ethics Ordinance nor a “political committee” as defined in the Illinois Election Code.
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