Future of the Chicago Suburbs

Toni Preckwinkle is the 35th president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, an office she has held since 2010. A dedicated and effective public servant, President Preckwinkle has worked tirelessly and collaboratively to reshape County government through increased fiscal responsibility, transparency and improved services. As the top executive in Cook County, President Preckwinkle oversees one of the nation’s largest public health and hospitals systems and one of the nation’s largest criminal justice systems. President Preckwinkle is a lifelong advocate for equity and equality, and through her work as president, has fought to improve health care access, bring increased fairness to the criminal justice system and expand employment training opportunities for some of the County’s most disadvantaged youth. Leveraging more than 30 years of political experience and leadership, President Preckwinkle has restored credibility to County government, solving for more than $2.1 billion in budget deficits, cutting $851 million in expenditures and passing balanced budgets each year of her tenure. Through the President’s leadership, Cook County used the Affordable Care Act to create CountyCare, a managed care program for Medicaid-eligible residents which now has about 330,000 members. President Preckwinkle is a nationally recognized leader in the drive to reduce unnecessary and costly detention of non-violent offenders in the criminal justice system. The pretrial population at the Cook County Jail has been reduced by more than 30 percent since she took office in 2010 and in 2017, the MacArthur Foundation awarded Cook County one of its highly competitive Safety and Justice grants in recognition of the County’s progress in criminal justice reform and to support its continued efforts. At the same time President Preckwinkle has successfully fought for juvenile justice reform, reducing the number of children tried as adults and the population in the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. She championed reform of expungement laws to ensure that juvenile records do not keep young people from productive adult lives. For her efforts, President Preckwinkle was honored in 2017 with the inaugural State Champion Award from the Shriver National Center on Poverty Law. President Preckwinkle is also president of the Forest Preserves of Cook County, the largest forest preserve districts in the country spanning 69,000 acres. Under her leadership, the Forest Preserves have been reborn as a public asset providing recreational, educational and ecological opportunities. Before she was elected Cook County Board President, President Preckwinkle served 19 years as Alderman of the 4th Ward, building a reputation for progressive independence. She replaced public housing with viable mixed-income developments that included the first market rate housing built in North Kenwood and Oakland since World War II. She fought for living wages, public education and against payday lending and gun violence. Prior to holding elected office, President Preckwinkle taught high school history for 10 years. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Chicago. She is the mother of two and the grandmother of three. --

As President & CEO of Choose DuPage and Chair of the Greater Chicagoland Economic Partnership, Greg Bedalov leads economic development efforts within DuPage County and across Northeastern Illinois. A longtime advocate for region wide collaboration, Bedalov was previously President & CEO of Choose DuPage from 2010-2015. He later served as Executive Director of the Illinois Tollway and President of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority (ISFA), before returning to Choose in 2019. Today, he continues to collaborate with public- and private-sector leaders to drive economic growth within DuPage County and support region-wide prosperity.

Mark has over twenty years of experience focused on meeting the real estate needs of Chicago & global businesses. Many of his projects are transformative in nature and involve partnering with his clients’ senior leaders to challenge their systems in order to achieve optimal real estate outcomes. He enhances his client relationships with the creativity, persistence, process orientation, attention to detail and negotiating expertise that are the result of his strong financial and business experience. His background and enthusiasm for commercial real estate and tenant representation have led to his rapid advancement within the industry.

Somerset Development achieved the nearly unthinkable, transforming the former Bell Labs into the current 2 million-square-foot multifaceted Bell Works in Holmdel. In 2022, that company, where Zucker is CEO and founder, transformed itself, rebranding to Inspired. “[W]e’re harnessing the lessons from our storied history, and building upon them for a new era of innovative and sustainable redevelopment,” Zucker said over the summer. Guided by its modern spin on New Urbanism, work is underway in Chicago for the company’s second metroburb and now that there’s a plan in place, Inspired has eyes on developing more of the destinations. The timing could be right for that kind of roll-out, in a post-COVID environment where employers are looking to draw workers back to cooperative spaces. The company expanded its residential portfolio in 2022 as well, as demand for housing persists, partnering with iStar to make its entrance to Asbury Park with plans for a luxury community located along 5th Avenue. Also in the shore area, the company scooped up 15 acres at the former Fort Monmouth where it plans to build 144 townhouses and 36 affordable units.

Roger Daniel is the founder and President of Daniel Management Group, Inc. He is also President of DMG Leasing (dmgleasing.com), the leasing division of Daniel Management Group, Inc. In these capacities, Roger is responsible for the day-to-day management and leasing of a portfolio consisting of over 2,000 units around the broader Midwest. In 2021, Roger co-founded DMG Capital (dmgcapital.com), a real estate investment firm focused on sourcing, underwriting and structuring multifamily real estate transactions. Prior to creating Daniel Management Group, Inc., Roger held various positions in multifamily leasing, property management, acquisitions, and brokerage. Roger’s work history includes roles at The Habitat Company, Village Green Companies, Northwestern Mutual Real Estate and others. Roger earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors, from the University of Wisconsin. He is a licensed Real Estate Managing Broker, a member of the Chicagoland Apartment Association, a member of EUBA, and a member of the Chicago Association of Realtors.

Infuse Hospitality Founder and Chairman, Michael Schultz, brings over a quarter century of experience in the hospitality industry and a proven track record of success and profitability. From casual restaurants to fine dining establishments, his expertise and leadership combined with his passion for top-notch hospitality has yielded a very loyal following. Throughout his tenure, Michael has created numerous brands, built successful leadership teams, and has mentored countless individuals. With his many years of experience, he founded Infuse Hospitality. Infuse Hospitality creates and operates first-in-class F&B amenities for companies and organizations without the resources to do so. From mobile cart solutions, to full cafe and restaurant branding, to operational services and supply chain management, Infuse Hospitality is a one-stop-solution for the best in specialty food and beverage experiences. Operating more than 25 million square feet across North America, the Infuse Hospitality portfolio includes partners such as Tishman Speyer, Spaces, Conagra Brands, and Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL). The portfolio also boasts Infuse Hospitality’s first brick and mortar concept, Fairgrounds Craft Coffee & Tea, a first-of-a-kind cafe offering a variety of craft coffee roasters, specialty teas and fresh, chef made food under one roof. With eight locations across the nation, Fairgrounds is redefining the coffeehouse experience with more options than ever.

Vicky Lee is Senior Vice President, Development at Focus where she manages and leads the company's expansion into different markets across the Southeast region of the country. As a Management Team member, Vicky is responsible for defining and implementing internal strategies and policies with the goal to grow the organization. In addition, she leads real estate acquisition, development, and architectural design activities on multiple projects, totaling more than $800mm for both Focus and third-party clients. Within seven months of kicking off the Focus expansion, Vicky and her team tied up two sites in Florida and are currently full-steam-ahead in the predevelopment process of both sites. Other notable achievements include spearheading entitlement and acted as owner’s rep for The Atworth at Mellody Farm. She maintained an excellent relationship with the Village of Vernon Hills, achieving and maintaining mutual respect. This has led to Focus recognition in suburban placemaking, catalyzing the company's most recent 4 new mall-redevelopments in Vernon Hills and Aurora. Vicky’s combined experience in urban planning, architecture, and business has propelled Vicky into an industry leader. She currently serves on the Advisory Board for ULI Chicago, Vice Chair of ULI Public Private Partnership Council (Blue), Vice Chair of ULI Chicago Product Council (Green), and Chair of Cornell Real Estate Council Chicago Chapter. Her philanthropic activities include serving as Board of Directors for the nonprofit organization, Teachers Supporting Teachers. Vicky received her MBA at the S.C. Johnson School of Management at Cornell University and a BA in Architecture at University of Notre Dame.

Neal Driscoll is Midwest Region Partner for Dermody Properties and is responsible for the company’s expanding portfolio across the region through the pursuit of acquisition, development, redevelopment and build-to-suit opportunities, as well as oversight of the existing portfolio. Mr. Driscoll was previously Vice President and Market Officer for Liberty Property Trust. During his 15-year career with Liberty, he oversaw a portfolio that grew from approximately 8 million square feet to 19 million square feet of industrial space across the midwestern United States including Chicago, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Cincinnati and Columbus. In this capacity, Neal was responsible for all aspects of Midwest enterprise including acquisition, disposition, (re)development, leasing and operations. Prior to his time at Liberty, Mr. Driscoll was an industrial broker in the Midwest providing investment and representative services. Mr. Driscoll holds a bachelor’s degree in real estate and finance from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. He has been an active participant in local real estate associations such as NAIOP, SIOR and AIRE, as well as not-for-profit advisory boards.

In 2021, Mr Kemp became the CEO of the SDA after serving as the inaugural co-chair of the organization from 2019. The SDA is the Chicago south suburb’s economic development entity serving 750,000 people and 45 municipalities. It is intentionally built to be a forward-looking, sophisticated institution that is plugged into and connects residents, businesses, and entrepreneurs to opportunities at the local and regional levels. In its short history, Mr Kemp has helped to reach 10,000 businesses, directly consult with 1,000 businesses, support the acquisition of $10 million in grants to support local businesses, invested in affordable housing and initiated industry sector programs in the food production and metals and manufacturing spaces. Opportunity Zone Strategy & Transactions In 2018, Mr. Kemp turned his attention to Opportunity Zones and has worked with investment funds, municipalities and developers on the implementation of the Opportunity Zones program across the country. This work has included developing city and regional strategies to attract Opportunity Zone funding and projects in the greater New Orleans and Tampa area and as well as working with corporations, developers and fund managers to leverage Opportunity Zone funding. Bo previously worked with Senator Cory Booker, who co-sponsored the Opportunity Zones bipartisan bill. In addition to representing municipalities. these efforts have included closing OZ transactions with family offices, helping to raise OZ funds with asset managers, representing corporations leveraging OZ investments. Mr. Kemp has spoken at nearly fifty OZ conferences and published more than a dozen articles but in the US and Internationally on the Opportunity Zone program. As of 2020, Mr. Kemp has become a featured speaker with the Opportunity Now Federal team touring cities around the nation discussing OZ projects and structuring. Newark, New Jersey Business Administrator (Chief Operating Officer) Mr. Kemp spent the first decade of his professional career in finance with Morgan Stanley and TSG Capital Group, a private equity group. Then, after leading Cory A. Booker’s successful transition to the office of Mayor of Newark, N.J., Bo became the city’s Business Administrator (COO). In his time with Booker (now a U.S. Senator), Bo and the senior leadership team helped Newark evolve from a city close to bankruptcy to a community growing in population for the first time in 40 years. In this role, Bo oversaw all 5,000 city employees and the operations of the city, including public safety (police and fire), economic development, child and family well-being, public works and administrative services. He also was responsible for all state and federal lobbying, union negotiations, and emergency management/ homeland security preparedness. Senior Advisor to Mayor in Gary, Indiana After leaving Newark, Bo returned to the private sector until 2011 when another mayor, Karen Freeman-Wilson of Gary, Indiana asked him to run her transition and to continue to help lead her effort to reposition Gary for future growth once she took office. Under the direction of the Mayor, Mr. Kemp, developed a strategy to leverage analysis and to present data to secure Federal, state and philanthropic grants as well as to establish partnerships with universities and private companies to initiate major initiatives including: a $100 million public-private partnership with the Gary/Chicago International Airport, the development of the Gary Port Authority and intermodal facility, a Clean Tech strategy to address blight elimination, a restructuring of the Gary Sanitary District (waste and storm water) and the development of several economic development projects. Faegre Drinker Biddle Reath Consulting Bo worked at Faegre Drinker, a full-service law and consulting firm that has more than 1,300 lawyers and consultants worldwide. At Faegre Drinker, Bo served as an advisor to several public private partnerships including a restructuring and P3 with the Illinois Lottery, work with a private company developing electric vehicle infrastructure as well as growth strategies for philanthropic advocacy organizations. Educational Background and Personal Interest Mr. Kemp graduated with a BA in Economics from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Bo enjoys traveling and hopes to visit 100 countries in his lifetime. Bo speaks child-like Spanish and passable French. He’s a dangerous golfer (and not in the good way) but an aspiring aquaponics and micro farmer.

Javier joined the Xfinity Communities team in 2019 as Manager of Commercial Development. He led a successful Account Executive team through sales growth and acquisition strategy. Now, Javier brings his 19 years of experience and leadership in the telecom industry to lead and drive MDU growth and expansion in Comcast’s Greater Chicago Region. Javier was a member of the United States Marine Corps Reserve where he received meritorious promotions and graduated at the top of Military Occupational Specialty class. He attended Northeastern Illinois University and is a member of several organizations including HACIA, IHCC, ASIS, and the Metropolitan Leadership Institute.

Darcy Kennelly Rutzen is Senior Vice President of Property Management for M & J Wilkow where she oversees strategic property operations for M & J Wilkow’s 14 million square feet of retail and office properties throughout the United States. Darcy has 25 years of experience in Real Estate in both property management and marketing with companies including Simon Property Group, Westfield and Prime Retail.  A recipient of multiple ICSC MAXI awards for her work on shopping center marketing campaigns, Darcy is a member of CHIEF, CREW Chicago, The Urban Land Institute (ULI), is a mentor for The Goldie Initiative, and a Milwaukee Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree. Darcy earned her MBA in Marketing and International Business from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. She is a Certified Retail Real Estate Professional (CRRP) and a Certified Marketing Director (CMD) with the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).   Darcy is a licensed real estate broker in Illinois, and a frequent speaker on topics including retail operations. marketing, brand positioning, and placemaking in commercial real estate.

In his role, he is responsible for planning, lease negotiations, on-boarding new tenants, and development throughout the company's 4 million sf portfolio. Throughout his three years at Somerset, he has served as a lead liaison between design, engineering, and legal teams for the company's signature projects, including the monumental two-million-square-foot adaptive reuse of the former Bell Labs facility in Holmdel, now known as Bell Works. Today, Ken is the development lead on Somerset's second adaptive reuse initiative in Hoffman Estates, where the company is applying its innovative 'metroburb' concept in transforming a former AT&T facility into a self-contained mixed-use hub, complete with a mix of office, residential, retail, dining, and hospitality components.

Dan Seals is the Chief Executive Officer of Intersect Illinois, a public private partnership focused on global business development for the State of Illinois. He oversees all aspects of the organization, including marketing, sales, financing, and personnel. Dan has spent his career in both the public and private sector. He previously served as a Director at the American Medical Association, where he led both domestic and international marketing for a large portfolio of business services. He has also led business marketing for a division of GE Capital, where he helped achieve double digit growth in the specialized real estate sector. Prior to that Dan led a marketing team at T-Mobile, where he marketed telecommunications products nationwide. Dan also served as the Assistant Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, where he oversaw programs for business attraction, small business support, workforce development, tourism, and international trade. During that time he led the development of the first Illinois Economic Development Plan in years. Dan has previously served as an adjunct professor of public policy at Northwestern University. He also won the Presidential Management Fellowship—serving as an aide to the Assistant Secretary of U.S. Department of Commerce and as an economic aide in the U.S. Senate. Dan holds an MBA from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago and a MIPP in International Economics from the School of Advanced International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University. He was born and raised in Illinois where he resides with his wife and three daughters.