Rouhy J. Shalabi
Commissioner
Rouhy J. Shalabi was appointed as a Commissioner to the Chicago Park District on June 19, 2002, with a current term expiring June 30, 2013. Commissioner Shalabi is an attorney who has been licensed to practice law in Illinois since 1981. Commissioner Shalabi is the principal in the law firm of Rouhy J. Shalabi & Associates, a general practice law firm that deals with civil and criminal litigation, real estate and business transactions, personal injury, social security, and family law. Commissioner Shalabi received his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois and his law degree from Northern Illinois College of Law where his law school thesis was about Sharia, the Law of Islam.
Commissioner Shalabi is the first Arab-Muslim appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley to the Board of Commissioners of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations. Previously, Commissioner Shalabi served as the first President of the City of Chicago Advisory Council on Arab Affairs. In addition, he serves as a member of the Circuit Court of Cook County's Racial and Ethnic Committee, the Cook County State's Attorney's Hate Crimes Commission, and the Multi-Cultural Advisory Council. He is President of the Stevenson School Local School Council. In addition, Commissioner Shalabi serves as the President of the Arab American Bar Association, under whose leadership the Association helped secure the appointment of the first Arab American judge in Illinois.
Commissioner Shalabi is married to Samar Shalabi. He and his wife are the parents of eight children and live in the Scottsdale neighborhood.