Mayor Brandon Johnson has convened the Chicago Financial Future Task Force, a 24-member group of civic leaders tasked with developing long-term strategies to strengthen the city’s financial health and promote equitable growth across all neighborhoods. The initiative was created by Executive Order 2025-1 and aims to move beyond short-term budget balancing to focus on sustainable, inclusive development. The task force is co-chaired by Karen Freeman-Wilson, President & CEO of the Chicago Urban League, and Jim Reynolds, founder and CEO of Loop Capital. Reynolds, a veteran of Paine Webber and Merrill Lynch, launched Loop Capital in 1997 and has since expanded it into a diversified investment banking firm with an infrastructure division. Freeman-Wilson, a Harvard Law graduate and former mayor of Gary, Indiana, has been at the helm of the Urban League since 2020. The task force is divided into subgroups focused on revenue and efficiency. Ron DeNard, CFO of United Way of Metro Chicago, leads the Efficiencies Subgroup, bringing experience from Exelon, the CTA, and the Chicago Board of Education. Dan Lurie, President & CEO of the Metropolitan Planning Council and former Chief of Policy under Mayor Lori Lightfoot, heads the Revenues Subgroup.
Other members represent a broad cross-section of Chicago’s civic landscape, including labor unions, advocacy groups, private sector finance, and community organizations. They include Adrienne Alexander (AFSCME Council 31), Carlos Cabrera Calderon (Cabrera Capital Partners), Carlos E. Calderon (Ariel Investments), Tyler Clark (Inspire by Tyler), Annie McGowan (Civic Federation), Ralph Martire (Center for Tax and Budget Accountability), Andrea Kluger (Chicago Federation of Labor), Jeffrey Howard (Salveo Capital), Pasquale Gianni (Teamsters Joint Council 25), Rocío Garcia (United Working Families), and Julie Dworkin (formerly Chicago Coalition for the Homeless).
The task force reflects the principle that “Personnel is policy,” emphasizing how leadership choices shape government initiatives. By drawing on expertise from finance, advocacy, labor, and community sectors, the group is expected to chart a path for Chicago’s fiscal stability while addressing equity across neighborhoods.
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