« 68. Martin Cabrera Jr.70. James Reynolds Jr. » AGE: 70 OCCUPATION: Founder and CEO, Environmental Financial Products Dreaming up ideas that transform industries is Sandor’s stock-in-trade. The father of financial futures, he invented a carbon-trading system aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions and sold it for nearly $600 million in 2010. Now he’s working … Read more
« 6. David Axelrod8. Penny Pritzker » AGE: 23 OCCUPATION: Point guard, Chicago Bulls First comes the physical power: the raw strength that fires somewhere deep inside and explodes in a backboard-rattling thunderslam. Next comes the ability to wow: the gaping jaws at the United Center, the disbelieving eyes riveted to TV screens across the … Read more
« 70. James Reynolds Jr.72. Deborah Rutter » AGE: 35 OCCUPATION: Founder, Interfaith Youth Core Since 2002, this Muslim-Indian Chicagoan has shown through op-eds, a book, and a training institute that the way to bridge faiths is to acknowledge differences and get together anyway. Last March, the White House partnered with Patel to show 500 … Read more
« 71. Eboo Patel73. Desirée Rogers » AGE: 55 OCCUPATION: President, Chicago Symphony Orchestra The CSO chief reeled in two very big fish—Riccardo Muti and Yo-Yo Ma, who signed on in 2009 as a creative consultant for new programming—and the audiences followed. So did the money: In January, the CSO announced a record year in … Read more
« 72. Deborah Rutter74. Dick Duchossois » AGE: 52 OCCUPATION: CEO, Johnson Publishing Company The ex-wife of John Rogers (No. 35) has rehabbed her image from chastened White House social secretary to can-do executive. As the publisher of Ebony and Jet, Rogers raised much-needed cash by unloading Johnson’s South Michigan Avenue building. But her real … Read more
« 73. Desirée Rogers75. Brendan Sodikoff » AGE: 90 OCCUPATION: Chairman, Duchossois Group The Duchossois name may be synonymous with Arlington Park and Churchill Downs (and trying times for horseracing), but the group represents a diverse portfolio of companies that have given bundles to Illinois pols over the decades. RELATED: Most Powerful Ex-Chicagoans | Power … Read more
« 74. Dick Duchossois76. Barbara Gaines » AGE: 33 OCCUPATION: Chef and entrepreneur The master of cross-pollinating hipster dining with nightlife, Sodikoff is suddenly Chicago’s reigning trendsetter. Riding the success of Gilt Bar, the Doughnut Vault, and Maude’s Liquor Bar, he’s launching a diner (Au Cheval), followed by a steak house (Bavette’s) and a pizza … Read more
« 75. Brendan Sodikoff77. Danny Sólis » AGE: 65 OCCUPATION: Artistic director, Chicago Shakespeare Theater Gaines’s drive and networking skills have made the theatre she founded in 1986 a hub for cutting-edge international acts and a home for the city’s best drama veterans. She directs Ian McDiarmid, who played the Star Wars villain Emperor Palpatine, … Read more
« 77. Danny Sólis79. Linda Johnson Rice » AGE: 66 OCCUPATION: President, Art Institute of Chicago No one batted an eye when Druick ascended to the Art Institute’s top job last August. The 27-year veteran has the curatorial chops and the confidence to steer one of Chicago’s vaunted cultural treasures out of the economy’s downturn. … Read more
« 76. Barbara Gaines78. Douglas Druick » AGE: 62 OCCUPATION: Alderman, 25th Ward President pro tempore of the City Council and chairman of its powerful zoning committee, Sólis survived a tough runoff election last year. A stalwart Daley supporter, he has saddled up with the new mayor, and insiders say he is now Emanuel’s sounding … Read more
