Fireside Chat

Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi joins us to discuss property tax assessments and answer your questions!

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  Fritz Kaegi

  Prior to beginning his career in Cook County government, Fritz spent more than 20 years valuing assets as a mutual fund portfolio manager and analyst. In his 13 years at Columbia Wanger Asset Management, Fritz served as a financial steward, helping average families save for retirement and focusing on small companies operating around the world. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst and Certified Illinois Assessment Officer designations. He is also a member of the IAAO, the International Association of Assessing Officers. Since assuming office in 2018, Fritz has brought fairness, ethics and transparency to the Cook County Assessor’s Office with a vision focused on operational changes, technological upgrades, and the elimination of favoritism. These changes have increased predictability in the assessment system and spurred investment in Chicago and Cook County. Fritz was born and raised in the Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago and still maintains close ties to the community. He attended Hyde Park’s Kenwood Academy for high school, completed his undergraduate studies at Haverford College, and received his MBA from Stanford University. In 2020 Fritz received the A. Philip Randolph Change Agent Award from the National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum and in 2021 the Adlai Stevenson Award for Public Service from the Chicago chapter of the American Society for Public Administration. Fritz’s wife Rebecca is a teacher; they live in Oak Park, with their three children, where Fritz is a member of First United Methodist Church of Oak Park.

  Cook County

  Cook County Assessor

  Fireside Chat

  Fritz Kaegi

  Cook County Assessor

  Cook County

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  Angela Azmitia

  Angela is a Master of Science in Real Estate candidate at Roosevelt University (RU). She is currently the Director of Leasing (Affordable) for Related Management. Angela is committed to discovering ways in which affordable housing and community resources can be further built into for-profit development and private-sector negotiations. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Printmedia from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and is the recipient of the Teresa Hipolito Roldan Scholarship for Tomorrow's Hispanic Leaders in Real Estate, a NAIOP Chicago University Scholar, Eisenberg Scholar, and a 2022-23 Goldie Scholar.

  Roosevelt University

  Master of Science in Real Estate candidate

  Moderator

  Angela Azmitia

  Master of Science in Real Estate candidate

  Roosevelt University

Financing & Investing in a Volatile Economy

What you need to know about inflation, capital market conditions and financing alternatives

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  Michael Episcope

  In 2007, Michael Episcope co-founded Origin Investments, a top-decile fund manager that helps high-net-worth investors, family offices and registered investment advisors grow and preserve wealth by providing best-in-class real estate solutions. With Michael’s leadership, Origin has $1 billion in equity under management and has executed more than $2.6 billion in real estate transactions in fast-growing markets throughout the U.S. He is co-CEO, co-chairs the investment committee and oversees investor relations and capital raising. Prior to Origin, Michael had a prolific trading career and twice was named one of the top 100 traders in the world by Trader Monthly Magazine. Michael earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees from DePaul University. He has more than 30 years of investment and risk management experience and has been an integral contributor to Origin’s innovative practices and investment success.

  Origin Investments

  Co-CEO

  Michael Episcope

  Co-CEO

  Origin Investments

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  Bart Johnson

  Bart Johnson is the Commercial Real Estate Market Head for Wintrust Financial. He has over 25 years of banking and commercial real estate lending experience and works with the bankers across all Wintrust charters in the management of the Company’s nearly $7 billion real estate loan portfolio. Bart is a member of the Wintrust Credit Committee and has extensive working knowledge in the construction and ownership of office developments, industrial and warehouse spaces, multifamily properties, self-storage and senior housing. Bart and his Wintrust Peers are financing projects across the country, supporting their clients’ growth and diversification efforts.

  Wintrust Financial

  President & Commercial Real Estate Head

  Bart Johnson

  President & Commercial Real Estate Head

  Wintrust Financial

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  Bob Wislow

  Chairman & CEO

  Parkside Realty

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  Andy Davidson

  For over 30 years, Andrew has built a solid reputation as a corporate tenant representative proficient in strategic planning, GAAP accounting treatment, state and municipal incentives, build-to-suit transactions, and major headquarter relocations. Andrew has led teams that have worked with distinguished tenants across several industries, including legal, logistics, non-profit, government, healthcare, and pharmaceutical.

  Transwestern

  Executive Vice President/Managing Director

  Andy Davidson

  Executive Vice President/Managing Director

  Transwestern

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  JC Griffin, Sr.

  JC Griffin is Vice President of Capital Markets & Asset Strategies for Transwestern’s Capital Markets Group. Founded in Houston, Texas in 1978, the company develops commercial properties and delivers real estate services across the globe. The firm’s Family of Companies operates out of 33 offices throughout the U.S. and hosts over 2,300 employees. Based in the firm’s Chicago office, JC leads private market investor sourcing, deal origination, structured financing and investment sales transactions for the Midwest region. Most recently, he was appointed as the designated agent for Woodlawn Central – a $895 million mixed-use megadevelopment project taking place on Chicago’s Southside near the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park. Prior to joining TRS, JC served as a senior broker in Avison Young’s Development Services & U.S Capital Markets Group and initiated his career in real estate brokerage conducting tenant representation and investment sales at @properties Commercial. Before his career in real estate, JC spent over six years managing personnel, operations and facilities in the private and public sector and fulfilled eight collective years of uniformed service in the U.S. Department of Defense as an Iraq War veteran and C-130 enlisted aviator in the U.S. Air Force. Additionally, Griffin served as a liaison to the White House Opportunity & Revitalization Council under the Trump Administration, which was established to amplify the coordination of Federal economic development resources in Opportunity Zones and other distressed communities identified via the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. He has been featured in national and regional publications such as The Real Deal, REJournals, Connect Media and The Business Journal, and has been a business contributor to Bisnow and the Urban Land Institute on issues concerning urban development and the diversification of industry recruitment and retention efforts. Mr. Griffin is an avid golfer and business investor. He is a resident of Cook County and splits his time between Chicago and Miami, Florida with his wife and children.

  Transwestern

  Vice President - Capital Markets & Asset Strategies

  Moderator

  JC Griffin, Sr.

  Vice President - Capital Markets & Asset Strategies

  Transwestern

Changes in Chicago

What lies ahead for Chicago? Hear from industry experts about new local developments and city initiatives

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  Samir Mayekar

  Managing Director

  Polsky Center

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  Michael Edwards

  Michael M. Edwards is the President & CEO of Chicago Loop Alliance. Since joining the organization in 2012, he has overseen CLA’s historic strategic planning process. Edwards is also a founding member of the International Business District Alliance.

  Chicago Loop Alliance

  President & CEO

  Michael Edwards

  President & CEO

  Chicago Loop Alliance

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  Barbara Schenberg

  Barbara Schenberg joined Cushman & Wakefield in 2011 and recently was Executive Director with C&W responsible for over 2 million RSF of leasing downtown Chicago. An industry veteran with over 28 years experience, she was previously with Capital Properties where she served as Senior Vice President and Director of Midwest Region where she was responsible for the leasing and re-positioning of the historic Inland Steel Building. Previously, Ms. Schenberg was a Senior Vice President with The John Buck Company for 13 years. During her tenure with the firm, Ms. Schenberg was responsible for leasing a portfolio of over 5.2 million square feet in downtown Chicago.

  Parkside Realty

  Executive Vice-President of Leasing

  Barbara Schenberg

  Executive Vice-President of Leasing

  Parkside Realty

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  Collete English Dixon

  Collete English Dixon has more than 30 years in investment management with a focus on commercial real estate investing. Prior to her current role at Roosevelt University, she was Executive Director - Transactions for PGIM Real Estate (formerly known as PREI), a business unit of Prudential Financial, and co-leader of PREI’s national investment dispositions program. In that role, she oversaw the sale of more than 200 investment properties located throughout the US, with a total value of more than $8.7 Billion, on behalf of PREI’s investment funds. Prior to her role in dispositions, English Dixon was responsible for sourcing more than $2.75B of wholly-owned and joint venture real estate investment opportunities in the Midwest markets covering all property types, including office, rental and for-sale multi-family, hotel, industrial and retail properties. Collete’s experience also includes property development and asset management. In her current role, English Dixon is the Executive Director of the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate at Roosevelt University where she is oversees all aspects of the undergraduate real estate major and the MSRE/MBA-RE degree programs. She is the first African American woman leader of a higher-education real estate program in the US. She is a member of the administrative team for the Heller College of Business and is also the program director for the university’s Hospitality and Tourism Management undergraduate and graduate degree programs. She is a member of the Board of Directors and a member of the Nominating Committee for Marcus Millichap, Inc., a member of the Board of Directors for Broadstone Real Estate Access Fund and a member of its Audit and Governance committees, a member of the Advisory Board for Waterton Associates, LLC and a member of the Board of Directors for Community Investment CorporationChicago and the Harold E. Eisenberg Foundation. She is a Past President of CREW Network, a Past Chair of the CREW Network Foundation, and a Past President of CREW Chicago. She is also a Global Governing Trustee and member of the Americas Executive Committee of ULI.

  Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate, Roosevelt University

  Executive Director

  Moderator

  Collete English Dixon

  Executive Director

  Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate, Roosevelt University

City Update

The impact of the Invest South/West initiative and what current building data means for the future of the city

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  Matthew Beaudet

  Matthew Beaudet was appointed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot on July 31, 2020, and confirmed by City Council on October 7, 2020, to serve as Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Buildings (DOB), a 295‐person department with an annual budget of $37 million. DOB enhances the safety and quality of life for residents and visitors of the City of Chicago through permitting, inspections, trade licensing, and enforcement of the Chicago Construction Codes.  Prior to his appointment, Beaudet served as the First Deputy Commissioner of the Department since 2011 where he worked to implement multiple reforms that have streamlined the permit process for all building projects. From single-family-home renovations to large-scale developments, the reforms make it quicker and more efficient to obtain a permit than ever before. Beaudet was integral in the move to electronic plan review in 2012, establishing Chicago as the first city to implement an electronic processing for all permit applications requiring architectural drawings. In 2019, Beaudet worked on the team that led the City’s adoption of the first full rewrite of the Chicago Building Code in 70 years, making Chicago was one of the first major jurisdictions in the U.S. to align with the 2018 International Building Code.  Beaudet also served as the First Deputy Commissioner for the Chicago Department of Public Health, the Assistant Director of the Illinois Department of Central Management Services, the Chief of Electronic Tolling at the Illinois Tollway, and the Assistant Director of the Chicago Department of Administrative Hearings.    The first Native-American appointed to serve as a City Commissioner, Beaudet is a citizen of the Montauk Tribe, active in local and national civil rights issues and co-founder and first president of the Illinois Native American Bar Association. He was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to serve on the Committee on Character and Fitness from 2000 to 2009 and is a past recipient of the Illinois Bar Association’s Community Service Award. Beaudet is also a fifth-generation Chicagoan and active in volunteer work with the Chicago Public Schools.  Beaudet holds a bachelor’s degree from Loyola University of Chicago, a law degree from the John Marshall Law School, and was admitted to the practice of law in Illinois in 1989.  Born in Logan Square he resides in Irving Park with wife and children.  Commissioner Beaudet, and the entire Department of Buildings team, look forward to providing quality service as we commit to the equitable strengthening of investment and quality of life for all 77 communities of the City of Chicago.

  City of Chicago, Dept. of Buildings

  Commissioner

  Matthew Beaudet

  Commissioner

  City of Chicago, Dept. of Buildings

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  Grant Ullrich

  Deputy Building Commissioner

  City of Chicago, Dept. of Buildings

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  AJ Patton

  Founder & CEO

  548 Enterprise

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  Torrey Barrett

  Torrey L. Barrett is a native of Chicago and the principal of Imagine Development Group, a minority-owned and certified leading boutique real estate development firm with significant local experience in market-rate, mixed-income and affordable housing. Prior to starting Imagine Development Group, Torrey has a long history of running a social justice organization to improve the quality of life for thousands of youth. In 2004, Torrey’s reputation for providing quality service and his efforts for bringing about peace received international recognition. Torrey was appointed U.S. Chapter President of Youth Federation for World Peace International. In that capacity, Torrey facilitated bringing large groups of youth from America to foreign countries to engage the youth of those countries in peaceful negotiations. Torrey’s work in the Middle East earned him an Ambassador for Peace title by the State of Israel. As U.S. Chapter President for YFWP, Torrey has partnered with Martin Luther King, III and the Realizing the Dream organization to work with citizen of Nairobi Kenya after the post-election violence that took place. Torrey continues to dedicate his time boards and committees representing various important causes such as Chicago’s Business Leadership Council, Associate Board of Make A Wish Foundation, and Advisory Board for Chicago Fire Department, and Board of Directors for Youth Freedom for World Peace International, Advisory Board for University of Chicago Medical, and Founding Board Member of Emerald South (Obama Foundation CDC).

  Imagine Development Group

  Principal

  Torrey Barrett

  Principal

  Imagine Development Group

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  Molly Phelan

  Molly is a partner in the Chicago Office of Siegel Jennings, a national property tax law firm. As a litigator and trusted advisor, she collaborates with Owners, Asset Managers, Acquisition teams and Tax Departments to identify, create and execute property tax reduction strategies. She becomes a member of her clients’ management team. Her goal is to maximize and protect the full potential of real estate assets, minimize related tax liabilities, and resolve disputes with tax authorities and government entities. Molly’s client experience ranges from family owned 1031 portfolios to national commercial investment funds, including special use properties such as hospital campuses to multi-million-dollar manufacturing facilities. Her comprehensive understanding of the commercial real estate market was developed in part through her time as a real estate broker in the Chicago area prior to starting her legal career. Molly regularly represents clients in hearings before review boards, local assessors’ offices, the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board, and the circuit courts.

  Siegel Jennings

  Partner

  Molly Phelan

  Partner

  Siegel Jennings

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  Heather Morrison

  Heather Morrison is the Founder and CEO of Morrison Architectural Planning Strategies, LLC, and MAP Studio LLC, a WBE-licensed architecture firm. She is an architectural strategist and project manager with a twenty-five year record of successfully managing large-scale architecture and construction projects. After working in the field of architecture for several years, and especially while project managing with ZGF Architects for the Lurie Children's Hospital, she often observed significant inefficiencies in how entitlement processes for permitting, code review, and licensing were managed. Changes in the design often have to occur after the fact within this process, exacerbating inefficiencies. Heather found a hole in the market, which quickly became a passion for helping all sides of a development team streamline the compliance process. Heather started MAP Strategies (MAPS) to bring accountability to her clients, and the discipline to be informed, organized, and prepared for the governmental regulatory process. Similar to the law, building codes exist to systematize how architects design buildings for the safety of the public. As a compliance partner, Heather and her team focus on editing architectural designs during pre-construction and strategically plan the path for permitting and licensing, creating better design outcomes while saving time, money, and resources. Heather’s then-startup began in 2014 in the West Loop with the dream of turning compliance on its head. Fortunately, notable developers gave her a chance early on to prove MAPS’s value–and she and her team delivered. These early successes and a reputation for high-level service paved the way for consistent growth in the years to follow. Notable developments overseen by Heather and her team include: 400 North Lakeshore Drive, Lincoln Yards, 727 West Madison, the Tribune Tower renovation, and 900 West Randolph, the tallest building in Chicago’s West Loop. Beyond Heather’s professional achievements, she is passionate about her civic engagement and contributions. After a long battle with cancer, her father Michael Morrison, a prominent real estate attorney in Chicago, passed away in 2010. To honor his legacy and commitment to giving back and lifting up underserved populations in Chicago, Heather gathered together a fundraising committee which eventually raised over 100 thousand dollars to endow a scholarship in Michael’s name at the Chicago Jesuit Academy, a full-scholarship college preparatory middle school located on Chicago’s west side. Distinguished by small classes, an extended academic day, and a longer school year, CJA makes it possible for young men from modest economic backgrounds to find their way to outstanding high schools and colleges which they would otherwise not be able to attend. January 11, 2023 Heather and her team regularly volunteer as pro-bono consultants, performing zoning assessments, code consulting, permit management and other entitlement services for affordable housing developments.

  MAP Strategies

  Founder & President

  Moderator

  Heather Morrison

  Founder & President

  MAP Strategies