Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners
Bios
Gery J. Chico
President
Gery J. Chico has practiced law and represented leading companies in Chicago and the nation over the past 20 years in the areas of real estate, government regulation and business counseling. He has a unique understanding of both the public and private sectors given his strong background in public service, law and business.
Since April of 2004, Mr. Chico has been a Senior Partner at Chico & Nunes, P.C. In March 2004, he was a candidate for the U.S. Senate. He also served as Special Counsel to the law firm of Arnstein & Lehr in 2003 and 2004. Mr. Chico was a senior partner in the firm of Altheimer & Gray, as well as a member of its Executive Committee, from 1996 through 2003. He was a partner at Sidley & Austin in 1995 and 1996, serving as head of the firm’s State and Local Government practice. While an associate at that firm from 1987 through 1991, he also served as General Counsel to the Chicago Development Council, the city’s largest real estate development association. He worked for the City of Chicago Department of Planning from 1977 through 1980, and later for the Chicago City Council - Committee on Finance from 1980 through 1987.
Mr. Chico served as Chief of Staff to Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley from 1992 through 1995. Prior to that he was Deputy Chief of Staff for the Mayor. In 1995, Mayor Daley appointed Mr. Chico President of the Board of Trustees of the Chicago Public Schools, the nation’s third largest school system. Mayor Daley reappointed Mr. Chico for a second term in 1999. During his tenure as President, the Chicago Public Schools initiated a broad series of nationally-recognized education and fiscal reforms which led to six straight years of student performance increases, six years of balanced budgets, six years of labor peace and the unprecedented rebuilding of Chicago’s public school buildings. All of this activity led to the turnaround of one of the most troubled public school systems in the nation.
Mr. Chico has received many awards and honors including: Person of the Year Award by the Latin-American Police Association; President’s Award by the National Association of Hispanic Publishers; University of Illinois Alumni Achievement Award; Distinguished Award for Excellence by the Illinois Bar Foundation; Citizen of the Year by the City Club of Chicago; Outstanding School Board President by the Illinois State Board of Education; Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Outstanding Public Service; Champion of the Public Interest by the Business and Professional People for the Public Interest; and Chicagoan of the Year by Chicago Magazine.
Mr. Chico is a member of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Urban League, DePaul University, the University of Illinois Alumni Association and Scholarship Chicago. Mr. Chico was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court as member of the Planning and Oversight Committee for the Judicial Performance Evaluation Program. Mr. Chico was one of the founders of the Mexican-American Chamber of Commerce (now the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce). He remains active in many professional, civic and charitable organizations.
R.J. (Bob) Pickens
Vice President
Bob Pickens is Vice President of the Board of Commissioners for the Chicago Park District. He was appointed by The Honorable Mayor Richard M. Daley in February 2000 to serve as a Commissioner until April 25, 2014. The President of the Chicago Park District appointed Commissioner Pickens to the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission for a two-year term from 2005-2007. As a native of Chicago, Commissioner Pickens is fulfilling his lifetime commitment to servant leadership and civic engagement.
Commissioner Pickens currently owns Merrill Associates, Ltd., a contract labor, janitorial and maintenance company and is an independent Relocation Specialist with AKP Properties, LLC. He continues to be involved in manufacture trade investments with the Republic of China. Prior to retirement, Commissioner Pickens worked at Sears for 18 years as the Toy Buyer and assistant to the Chairman, National Sales Manager. He began his career as Director of Diversity and Minority Outreach at Foote, Cone and Belding, advertising agency.
Commissioner Pickens has been gifted with a special athletic prowess his entire life. From 1958-1962 while attending Evanston Township High School in Evanston, IL, he was an all-state offensive tackle in football, the 1961 Heavyweight State Champion in wrestling and the 1961 Suburban Shot Put and Discus Champion. After enrolling at the University of Wisconsin, Pickens was selected as the 1963 pre-season All-American and Big Ten Lineman of the Year during his sophomore term. In 1964, Pickens was selected for the Greco-Roman Wrestling Team representing the U.S. at the Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. He placed sixth in the world. In 1965, Pickens transferred to the University of Nebraska where he was selected as an All-American candidate, received All Big-Eight offensive tackle honors in football and finished second in the National AAU Wrestling Tournament Heavyweight Division. He was conferred his B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska.
From 1967-1969, Commissioner Pickens was drafted to the NFL and played offensive tackle for his beloved Chicago Bears. Following his three years with the Bears, he spent a year playing for the Edmonton Eskimos in the Canadian Football League. This illustrious sports career as an athlete resumed with Pickens serving as a football official for the Big Ten from 1976-1989. He has worked such games as the Big Ten Championships, the Liberty Bowl, Peach Bowl and Rose Bowl. Pickens has served as national steering committee President of the NFL Players Association and President of the NFL Retired Players Association, Chicago Chapter.
Commissioner Pickens volunteers for numerous community and civic organizations such as Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Better Boys Foundation, the Michael F. Sheahan Youth Foundation and Boundless Playgrounds for special needs children. He has been honored extensively, most notably with induction into The History Makers Athletic Hall of Fame and The Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame.
Commissioner Pickens is married to Judith Jamison Pickens and has two children, Todd and Tori, and one grandson, Ameer.
Dr. Margaret T. Burroughs
Commissioner
DR. MARGARET T. BURROUGHS was first appointed as a Commissioner to the Chicago Park District on May 9, 1986, with a current term expiring April 25, 2013. She was the founder and is the President Emeritus of the DuSable Museum of African-American History in Chicago, Illinois from 1961 through 1986. Commissioner Burroughs was a professor of Humanities at Kennedy-King College, Chicago, Illinois from 1968 through 1979. Dr. Burroughs was an educator in the Chicago Public School system from 1946 through 1968.
Dr. Margaret Burroughs enjoys traveling to foreign countries, attending education seminars and cultural activities, and helping other community groups found and set up African-American History Museums and Cultural Centers. For the past 12 years, Dr. Burroughs has been a volunteer teacher of art and poetry at the Joliet and Statesville Correctional Facilities.
Her numerous honors and awards include Honorary Doctorates from Lewis University (1972), Chicago State University (1980), the Art Institute of Chicago (1987), Columbia College (1987), North Central College (1988), Rhode Island College (1990), DePaul University (1995), and Spelman College (1998). She holds a Masters Degree in Art Education from the Art Institute of Chicago, and has traveled widely in Europe, Africa, Central America, South America, the South Pacific, Australia, China, and the former Soviet Union. Commissioner Burroughs is the recipient of numerous awards in recognition of her contributions to the developments of the arts, including an appointment and citation by President Carter as a member of the National Commission on African-American History and Culture. She is also a founder of the National Conference of African –American Artists and the Near South Side Community Art Center.
Commissioner Burroughs lives in the Bronzeville area of Chicago.
M. Laird Koldyke
Commissioner
Laird Koldyke was first appointed as a Commissioner on September 12, 2005, with a current term expiring April 25, 2011. Mr. Koldyke is a co-founder and Managing Partner of Winona Capital Management, LLC, a Chicago based private investment firm. Prior to Winona Capital, Mr. Koldyke spent 14 years at Frontenac Company, a Chicago based private equity firm. Mr. Koldyke was a partner at Frontenac since 1993 serving on the investment committee of the firm. Mr. Koldyke focuses on acquisitions and growth financings of consumer based businesses. Prior to Frontenac, Mr. Koldyke was with the IBM Corporation in the National Marketing Division in Los Angeles, California and Chicago.
Mr. Koldyke currently serves on the boards of Top Driver, LLC and Laird Norton Company, LLC. Mr. Koldyke is a graduate of Northwestern University (BA 1983) and The Kellogg Graduate School of Management (MM 1989). And yes, he still believes in the Cubs.
Mr. Koldyke lives in the Lincoln Park neighborhood with his wife Deirdre and their four children.
Reverend Daniel Matos-Real
Commissioner
Reverend Daniel Matos-Real was appointed as Commissioner to the Chicago Park District on October 2, 2002, with a current term expiring June 30, 2012. Reverend Matos-Real is the Senior Pastor at the Agape Full Gospel Church in Chicago. He has held such position since 1983. Prior to his ministry service, Reverend Matos-Real worked as a customer service manager for the Uptown Federal Savings and an analyst for the American National Bank.
Reverend Matos-Real has been involved in many jobs and positions related to counseling and dispute conflict resolution. Currently, he serves as a consultant to Aspira, Inc. of Illinois. He is also associated with World Crisis Intervention Network, AIDS Pastoral Care Network, and the Chicago Children's Advocacy Center. Reverend Daniel Matos-Real is a member of various civic and not-for-profit boards, including, the Board of the Coalition of Latin American Ministers and a trustee of the Illinois Association of Park Districts. Reverend Matos-Real also works with the Midwest Hispanic Health Coalition, the Interfaith Community Partnership of the Chicago Public Schools, and the National Partnership for Community Health of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Reverend Matos-Real received an undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He holds several theological degrees from the Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Lombard, Illinois; Calvin Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Ebenezer Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois. Reverend Matos-Real lives in the Ukrainian Village Neighborhood of the West Town community area.
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.