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100 Most Powerful Chicagoans - The Process »
What you need to know about the rankings - Twitter Royalty »
Power brokers with the biggest followings - Cozy at the Top »
See how five boards connect 12 of our listees. - Can't Pat Quinn Get Any Respect? »
Why the governor is No. 70 on our list - Take the Poll »
Which powerful Chicagoan would you call back first?
Name Your Top Ten
Pick from our list of 100 Most Powerful Chicagoans—or write in any Chicagoans you think we missed—and rank them.
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- 1Rahm Emanuel Mayor, City of Chicago
- 2Michael Madigan Speaker, Illinois House of Representatives
- 3J.B. Pritzker Managing partner, Pritzker Group
- 4Miles White Chairman and CEO, Abbott Laboratories
- 5Jerry Reinsdorf Chairman, Chicago Bulls and White Sox; co-owner, United Center
- 6Penny Pritzker Chairman and CEO, PSP Capital Partners
- 7Michael Sacks CEO, Grosvenor Capital Management
- 8Toni Preckwinkle President, Cook County Board of Commissioners
- 9Irene Rosenfeld Chairman and CEO, Mondelez
- 10David Axelrod Director, University of Chicago Institute of Politics
- 11Rocky Wirtz Co-owner, United Center; chairman, Chicago Blackhawks
- 12Lester Crown Chairman, Henry Crown and Co.
- 13Dick Durbin U.S. senator
- 14Joe Mansueto CEO, Morningstar
- 15Sam Zell Chairman, Equity Group Investments
- 16Don Thompson CEO, McDonald's
- 17Jim Delany Commissioner, Big Ten Conference
- 18John Rogers Jr. Chairman and CEO, Ariel Investments
- 19Eric Lefkofsky Investor and tech entrepreneur
- 20Lisa Madigan Attorney general, State of Illinois
- 21Jeff Smisek Chairman and CEO, United Continental
- 22Ed Burke Alderman, 14th Ward
- 23Ken Griffin CEO, Citadel
- 24Karen Lewis President, Chicago Teachers Union
- 25Tom Pritzker Executive chairman, Hyatt
- 26Grant Achatz Chef/partner, Alinea, the Aviary, and Next
- 27John Canning Jr. Chairman, Madison Dearborn Partners
- 28Robert Zimmer President, University of Chicago
- 29Steve Koch Deputy mayor, City of Chicago
- 30Garry McCarthy Superintendent, Chicago Police Department
- 31David Spielfogel Senior adviser to the mayor, City of Chicago
- 32Juan Rangel CEO, United Neighborhood Organization
- 33Jeanne Gang Principal, Studio Gang Architects
- 34Greg Wasson CEO, Walgreen
- 35Brad Keywell Investor and tech entrepreneur
- 36David Vitale President, Chicago Board of Education
- 37Cardinal Francis George Archbishop of Chicago
- 38Theaster Gates Artist
- 39Bruce Rauner Venture capitalist
- 40J. Christopher Reyes CEO, Reyes Holdings and Martin-Brower Company
- 41Mellody Hobson President, Ariel Investments
- 42Patrick Ryan CEO, Ryan Specialty Group
- 43Martha Lavey Artistic director, Steppenwolf Theatre Company
- 44James Crown President, Henry Crown and Co.
- 45Tom Ricketts Chairman, Chicago Cubs
- 46Dan Webb Chairman, Winston & Strawn
- 47Neil Bluhm Managing principal, Walton Street Capital
- 48Ann Lurie Philanthropist
- 49Fred Eychaner President and CEO, Newsweb Corp.
- 50Tracy Letts Actor and playwright
- 51Terry Mazany CEO, Chicago Community Trust
- 52Richard M. Daley Executive chairman, Tur Partners
- 53John Daley Commissioner, Cook County Board
- 54Morton Schapiro President, Northwestern University
- 55Patricia Hemingway Hall CEO, Health Care Service Corp.
- 56Theo Epstein President of baseball operations, Chicago Cubs
- 57Douglas Druick President, Art Institute of Chicago
- 58Frederick Waddell Chairman and CEO, Northern Trust
- 59Michael Kasper Lobbyist, Fletcher, O'Brien, Kasper & Nottage
- 60Linda Johnson Rice Chairman, Johnson Publishing Co.
- 61Susan Crown Chairman, Susan Crown Exchange
- 62Greg Goldner CEO, Resolute Consulting
- 63Robert Falls Artistic director, Goodman Theatre
- 64James Reynolds Jr. Chairman and CEO, Loop Capital Markets
- 65Tom Wilson Chairman and CEO, Allstate
- 66Tyrone Fahner Partner, Mayer Brown
- 67John Calamos Sr. Chairman and CEO, Calamos Asset Management
- 68Richard Driehaus Chairman, Driehaus Capital Management
- 69Michael Ferro Jr. Chairman, Wrapports
- 70Pat Quinn Governor, State of Illinois
- 71Jim Franczek Jr. Attorney, Franczek Radelet
- 72Bill Daley Potential gubernatorial candidate
- 73Patrick O'Connor Alderman, 40th Ward
- 74Roger Ebert Film critic, Chicago Sun-Times
- 75Ted Phillips CEO, Chicago Bears
- 76Andrew McKenna Sr. Chairman, Schwarz Supply Source
- 77Robert Clifford Principal partner, Clifford Law Offices
- 78Matt Hynes Director, Office of Legislative Counsel and Government Affairs, City of Chicago
- 79Barbara Byrd-Bennett CEO, Chicago Public Schools
- 80Joseph Ferguson Inspector general, City of Chicago
- 81Christopher Crane CEO, Exelon
- 82Jorge Ramirez President, Chicago Federation of Labor
- 83Anne Pramaggiore CEO, ComEd
- 84Desirée Rogers CEO, Johnson Publishing Co.
- 85Brendan Sodifkoff Restaurateur
- 86Christopher Kennedy Chairman, Joseph P. Kennedy Enterprises
- 87Glenn Tilton Midwest chairman, JPMorgan Chase
- 88Byron Trott Chairman and CEO, BDT Capital Partners
- 89Joe Berrios Assessor, Cook County
- 90Michelle Boone Commissioner, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, City of Chicago
- 91Dan McCaffery Chairman and CEO, McCaffery Interests
- 92Richard Posner Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit
- 93Jesse Ruiz Partner, Drinker Biddle & Reath
- 94James Bell Chairman, Chicago Infrastructure Trust
- 95Joanne Smith CEO, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
- 96John Rowe Chairman, Field Museum
- 97Tony Hu Restaurateur
- 98Terry Duffy Executive chairman, CME Group
- 99Anita Alvarez State's attorney, Cook County
- 100Andrew Mason CEO, Groupon

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5 year prediction
Kimberly Nelson-McDonald
CEO, K Jeneal
Will be on the list.