« 34. Rick Bayless36. Anita Alvarez » AGE: 54 OCCUPATION: Founder, chairman, and CEO, Ariel Investments By following his idol Warren Buffett’s approach to value investing—and favoring stocks of Chicago companies whose managers he knows intimately—Rogers has created the nation’s largest minority-owned mutual fund company. But his real power is as a connector, and his … Read more
« 79. Linda Johnson Rice81. Patrick O’Connor » AGE: 64 OCCUPATION: Chairman and CEO, McCaffery Interests McCaffery controls development of the last big unused chunk of Chicago’s lakefront—589 acres, which includes a swath that housed U.S. Steel’s South Works until 1992—and with it the thousands of jobs and contracts needed to get the planned $4 … Read more
« 31. Greg Wasson33. Dick Durbin » AGE: 61 OCCUPATION: CEO, Rush University Medical Center In January, the doors officially opened on Rush’s new 14-story hospital, a $654 million achievement that brought Mayor Emanuel and a parade of other political, civic, and financial leaders to the Near West Side. And Goodman, a doctor, continues to … Read more
« 80. Dan McCaffery82. Julia Stasch » AGE: 57 OCCUPATION: Alderman, 40th Ward The City Council floor leader is “by far the alderman whose advice the mayor trusts,” says one City Hall insider. At Emanuel’s behest, O’Connor will chair a powerful new committee overseeing contracts with the city’s union employees. RELATED: Most Powerful Ex-Chicagoans | … Read more
« 82. Julia Stasch84. John Bryan » AGE: 75 OCCUPATION: Senior chairman, Winston & Strawn Illinois’s longest-serving governor may not hold the sway he once did. But he is still Big Jim Thompson, with an iconic Loop building that bears his name, and he wields clout at what is arguably the most influential law firm … Read more
« 35. John Rogers37. Tom Pritzker » AGE: 52 OCCUPATION: State’s attorney, Cook County It’s hard to understate the authority to choose who is and isn’t prosecuted—and to significantly influence the wrongful conviction process. But Alvarez’s sway doesn’t stop there. Last fall, she granted power to the Town of Cicero to pursue civil litigation against … Read more
« 83. Jim Thompson85. Joanne C. Smith » AGE: 75 OCCUPATION: Chairman, NATO/G8 host committee Without this former Sara Lee CEO, who corralled more than $220 million in private contributions, Millennium Park wouldn’t exist. His prowess as a fundraiser is why Mayor Emanuel recruited him to lasso $65 million for the May summits. RELATED: Most … Read more
« 84. John Bryan86. Andrew Alexander » AGE: 50 OCCUPATION: President and CEO, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago At the helm of the country’s top rehab hospital since 2006, Smith is overseeing plans for a new Streeterville facility—slated to open in 2016 at a projected cost of $450 million—that will increase the institute’s capacity and boost … Read more
« 32. Larry Goodman34. Rick Bayless » AGE: 67 OCCUPATION: United States senator This amiable successor to Paul Simon is using his clout as majority whip (the Senate’s number two job) to become Illinois’s sugar daddy, securing billions for projects, pork or otherwise. Recently, he helped bring in $1.5 billion for a high-speed rail line … Read more
« 85. Joanne C. Smith87. Michelle Boone » AGE: 67 OCCUPATION: Co-owner and CEO, The Second City How do you turn funny into a $35 million empire? Just watch Alexander shuttle between Hollywood, where he hatches film and TV projects, and Chicago, where he keeps a firm grip on TSC’s local comedy productions and 12 … Read more
