May 16, 2011

Mayor-elect Emanuel And Cook County Board President Preckwinkle Announce Joint Committee To Enhance City-County Cooperation

Previously posted on March 29, 2011


Today Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced the creation of a joint committee tasked with examining all areas of city and county operations and producing a report on how they can best work together to cut costs, improve service delivery and streamline residents' interactions with government.

This diverse group of non-profit, community and business leaders, composed of three members selected by County Board President Preckwinkle and three members selected by Mayor-elect Emanuel, will report back in 45 days.

Committee Members

Anthony "Tony" Anderson is Vice Chair and Midwest Managing Partner of Ernst & Young and Chairman of the Board of the Chicago Urban League. As Ernst & Young's Midwest Managing Partner, Anderson oversees a practice of nearly 4,000 assurance, tax, advisory and transaction professionals across a 12-state region. In addition to his civic leadership in the Urban League, Anderson serves on the boards of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the Field Museum and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He received his Bachelor's degree in accounting from Chicago State University.

Gloria Castillo is the President of Chicago United, an organization that brings together diverse business leaders to break down racial barriers and increase access to opportunities for people of color in the Chicago area. Prior to joining Chicago United, Castillo served as president of Monarch Marketing Group, a promotional products firm. Earlier in her career Castillo held positions at Redbook Magazine and Crain's Chicago Business. Castillo is a resource board member for the Metropolitan Planning Council. She is a member of both the Economic Club of Chicago and the Executive Club of Chicago. Castillo has also served on the Board of Trustees of the Goodman Theater and as Advisory Council Chair of Mujeres Latinas en Accion. Castillo received a Bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Alderman Pat Dowell represents Chicago's 3rd Ward in the City Council. Prior to her service on the Council, Dowell worked as a City Planner and Deputy Commissioner of Neighborhood Planning under Mayors Harold Washington, Eugene Sawyer and Richard Daley. She was one of the primary architects of the Bronzeville Development Plan, which won a Burnham Award for excellence in planning. Formerly, Dowell was executive director of the Near West Side Community Development Corporation, founding executive director of the Mid-South Planning and Development Commission, and executive director of Chicago Public Allies, a national youth development organization. Alderman Dowell has a Bachelor's degree in Developmental Psychology from the University of Rochester and a Master's degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago.

Commissioner John A. Fritchey is a 14-year veteran of the Illinois General Assembly, where he served as Chairman of the Civil Judiciary Committee. He now represents the 12th District on the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Commissioner Fritchey received his Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Michigan and his J.D. from Northwestern University.

Juan Salgado has served as President and CEO of Instituto del Progreso Latino, which supports Latino immigrants and their families through education, job skills training and assistance with employment opportunities since 2001. Salgado has led Instituto del Progreso through a period of nationally acclaimed growth. In 2010 he was presented with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund's Excellence in Community Service Award. Salgado is a member of the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council Executive Board, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and Leadership Greater Chicago board of directors, and the Adler School of Professional Psychology Board of Trustees. Through the Institute for Mexicans Abroad, he served as an advisor to the President of Mexico. Salgado holds a Master's degree in Urban Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Illinois Wesleyan University.

Paula Wolff is Senior Executive at Metropolis Strategies, a business and civic organization focused on policy initiatives and programs for regional action. Her emphasis is on issues of crime, violence, incarceration and rehabilitation. From 1992 to 2000, Wolff was President of Governors State University. Previously, she was a Visiting Fellow at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, where she established a not-for-profit collaborative serving four Chicago Public Schools pilot sites. Wolff served as Director of Policy and Planning for Governor James R. Thompson and directed Governor Jim Edgar's Transition Team. Wolff was named Chair of the Illinois State Highway Authority in 2009 and also serves on the boards of the Joyce Foundation, the Metropolitan Planning Council, the Johnson Foundation, the Safer Foundation, the Chicago Foundation for Women, the University of Chicago Medical Center and the University of Chicago Board of Trustees. Wolff holds a Bachelor's degree from Smith College and a Master's and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in political science.