Chicago Meeting Matters

Governor Quinn Makes Appointments to Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority Board

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 28, 2010

Governor Quinn Makes Appointments to Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority Board
New Members to Focus on Keeping and Attracting Trade Shows, Creating Jobs

CHICAGO – June 28, 2010. Governor Pat Quinn today announced three appointments to the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA) Board, which operates McCormick Place and Navy Pier in Chicago.
Those MPEA board members are:

Ronald E. Powell, Member – Powell serves as the International Vice President of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union. He has served as president of the UFCW Local 881 since 1983. Powell lives in Mundelein with his wife Lois. They have four children and twelve grandchildren.

Carmen H. Lonstein, Member – Lonstein is a partner in the Chicago office of Baker and McKenzie and chair of the Financial Restructuring, Creditors’ Rights and Bankruptcy Practice Group in North America. She is a member of the board of the Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture. Lonstein lives in Chicago and has been named an Illinois Leading Lawyer and ranked in Top 50 Leading Women Business Lawyers in Illinois.

Larry R. Rogers, Member – Rogers is a founding partner of the Chicago law firm Power, Rogers and Smith. He is a past president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and of the Cook County Bar Association. Rogers has served on the United States Senate Judicial Nomination Commission for the Northern District of Illinois, the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on the Administration of Justice and an Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Jury Instructions.

Appointees will serve on the temporary board for 18 months. Governor Quinn and Mayor Daley each appoint three interim board members.

The Chicago convention industry supports 65,000 jobs and generates $8 billion in annual economic impact. The Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau recently announced that a number of organizations have recommitted to Chicago, including the International Housewares Association, the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American College of Cardiology.

The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority is a municipal corporation created by the Illinois General Assembly. For more information on Illinois Boards and Commissions, please visit Appointments.Illinois.gov.

Governor Quinn Makes Appointments to Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority Board

MPEA Board to Focus on Attracting Trade Shows, Creating Jobs

	CHICAGO – March 19, 2010. Governor Pat Quinn today announced three interim appointments to the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA), which owns and operates McCormick Place and Navy Pier in Chicago. Those MPEA board members are: Devon Bruce, Member – Bruce is an attorney at Power, Rogers and Smith P.C. Bruce received his B.A. and J.D. from the University of Illinois and is an adjunct professor of law at the University. After graduating from law school, Bruce clerked for the Illinois Supreme Court. He is a member of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, the Illinois State Bar Association and the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice. Anita Cummings, Member – Cummings is the founder of independent consulting firm, A.M. Consulting, specializing in professional management assistance. Cummings is the executive director of the United Business Association of Midway. She was previously a Chicago Public School teacher, Commissioner of the Chicago Park District and member of the board of directors of Neighborspace – a not-for-profit dedicated to acquiring and beautifying community parks. Peter O’Brien, Member – O’Brien is the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of MADO Management, LP. O’Brien has served as a member of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority board since 2003. He has also served on the boards of the Old Town Merchants and Residents Association, Jesse White Tumbling Team Scholars, Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau and is a member of the Illinois Restaurant Association and Union League Club of Chicago. After two major trade shows recently announced plans to move their conventions out of Chicago, Governor Quinn and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley called for legislation aimed at restructuring and improving the MPEA board. Governor Quinn signed Senate Bill 1868 (Public Act 096-0882), which ended current board members’ terms of office 30 days after the bill was signed into law. An interim seven-member board will be named until the Illinois General Assembly establishes a new permanent board. Under the new law, Governor Quinn and Mayor Daley each appoint three interim board members. The mayor will appoint a chairperson of the board, who will serve until a permanent board is named. The positions are unpaid. The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority is a municipal corporation created by the Illinois General Assembly. For more information on Illinois Boards and Commissions, please visit Appointments.Illinois.gov.