Board of Directors

Mayor John A. Ostenburg — Village of Park Forest, IL
CCLBA Secretary

John A. Ostenburg was elected Mayor of the Village of Park Forest, Illinois, in 1999 and was re-elected without opposition in 2003. He was elected to an unprecedented third four-year term in 2007 and to a record fourth four- year term in 2011. Read more

Calvin L. Holmes, President — Chicago Community Loan Fund
CCLBA Treasurer

Calvin L. Holmes has served as the President of the Chicago Community Loan Fund (CCLF) since 1998. Read more

Diane Limas, Board President – Communities United

Diane Limas servcies as the Leader and Board President for Communities United, a non-profit social justice organization located on the northwest side of Chicago.  Emy Brawley serves as Director of Land Preservation for Openlands, a regional leader in conservation. Communities United strives to be a “learning organization,” continually developing our analysis of economic, racial, gender, LGBTQ and disability justice as critical lenses through which we approach our work.   Read more

Peter M. Friedman, Partner – Holland and Knight

Peter has an accomplished and broad real estate practice and is the practice group leader of Holland & Knight’s Chicago Real Estate and Local Government Group. Mr. Friedman represents private and public sector clients in all phases of real estate finance, acquisition, development, zoning and land use matters. He counsels property owners, pension funds, tenants and developers in a variety of real estate and transactional projects. Read more

Thurman “Tony” Smith, Senior Vice President – PNC Bank

Tony Smith is the Senior Vice President and Community Development Market Manager for PNC Community Development Banking. In this capacity, Mr. Smith leads PNC’s efforts in strategic investments, lending, public service, technical assistance and financial education. Read more

James Planey, Founding Principal — Lee & Associates of Illinois, LLC

James Planey, an industrial real estate professional, is the founding principal of Lee & Associates of Illinois, LLC where he has worked since 2002. Prior to founding Lee & Assoc., Mr. Planey spent ten years (1992-2002) working for Collier Bennett & Kahnweiler, a premier Chicago-area commercial and industrial development firm. Read more

Lyneir Richardson, Executive Director — Center for Urban Entrepreneurship & Economic Development, Rutgers Business School

Lyneir Richardson is a faculty member and Executive Director of The Center for Urban Entrepreneurship & Economic Development at Rutgers Business School. Lyneir is also a lead consultant on Chicago TREND, an initiative aiming to stimulate retail development to accelerate neighborhood transformation in Chicago. Read more

Mayor Jeffrey Sherwin – City of Northlake, IL

Jeffrey Sherwin has served as Mayor of the City of Northlake since 1997. His service to Northlake began in 1983 when he was elected a Trustee of the Northlake Public Library District; his public service role expanded in 1985 when he became President of the Northlake Fire Protection District. Read more

Sarah L. Ware, Principal & Managing Broker — The Carter Ware Group

Sarah L. Ware is a principal and managing broker at The Carter Ware Group, Inc., a real estate firm that specializes in property sales, purchases and management; market research; and management consulting for investors or real estate assets, in Chicago where she has worked since 2007. Read more

Richard Monocchio — Executive Director, Cook County Housing Authority

Richard J. Monocchio has dedicated his professional career to public service for nearly 30 years.  In 2011, Mr. Monocchio was appointed Executive Director of the Housing Authority of Cook County, where he continues to be an advocate for safe, affordable housing.

Under Mr. Monocchio’s leadership, dozens of recreational, academic and vocational programs have been implemented to connect people, opportunities, and communities, ultimately helping residents become self-sufficient and achieve a better quality of life.  Monocchio is affiliated with numerous civic and community organizations. He is a board member to the non-profit Community and Economic Development Association of Cook County (CEDA), and serves on the Cook County Workforce Board.  READ MORE

Jay Stewart — Bureau Chief, Cook County Bureau of Economic Development

Jay is currently the Bureau Chief for the Cook County Bureau of Economic Development.  He previously served as the Bureau’s Deputy Bureau Chief, largely responsible for Bureau operations and administration.  He served as the Director for the Division of Professional Regulation – Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (2011 to 2016). He also worked in the Office of the Governor (2009-2011). Prior to serving in state government, Jay was the Executive Director for the Better Government Association (2004 to 2009).

Jay holds a J.D. (with honors) from the DePaul University College of Law, and a Bachelor’s Degree (B.A.) from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. When not at work, Jay enjoys camping, biking and hiking with his family.  READ MORE