Leading responsibly | BLC Newsletter Q2 2021
Message from the
Executive Director
The Virtue of Being Nimble
If there is one lesson to embrace from what we have come through over the last 18 months is that the survival of our businesses depends on our ability to be “light on our feet” and prepared to shift directions as needed.
We are right in the middle without a clear indication of whether we are poised for a full-fledged recovery or relapse into a second, yet very different round of dealing with a pandemic the world can’t seem to get under control.
We learned so much about ourselves, our work lives and our values over this period of time that we are forever changed by our insights. We will work, play and think about things differently as we move forward from here. The one thing we do know now with great certainty is that we have the ability to pivot as needed because we have learned to be more nimble.
Avis LaVelle
Executive Director
Message from the
Executive Chairman
Results
The role of the Executive Chairman of BLC is to ensure that we are progressing in a myriad of ways as a membership organization. That includes building and cultivating relationships, increasing our national and local influence, growing our membership base as well as internal infrastructure. In the first 6 months of 2021, we have seen results. We have seen our companies grow, work together and lead transformative initiatives. Our membership base has increase by approximately 50%. Our budget has almost doubled from the prior year. In the next couple of months we will begin to focus on adding external facing programs as we are the premier business organization in Chicago. Externally, people want to hear from you. Part of our focus will be highlighting our members, sharing our stories, experience, success and challenges regarding Black Business in Chicago.
As we explore ways to add value to our members that lead to results we are launching the Chairman’s Breakfast. The BLC Chairman’s Breakfast is designed to connect each Business Leadership Council industry group with leaders across several industries of interest. During breakfast, leaders discuss their personal career journey, high profile projects of interest, dedication to equity and diversity amongst their leadership and staff, and ways for BLC membership to engage with their companies. We are finding creative ways to engage our members as the goal is results.
The emphasis on data and analytics on our members is more significant as ever. It is essential that we are able to share insight on your businesses and our overall impact in the City of Chicago. Please complete the annual business survey below.
Charles Smith
Executive Chairman
Message from the
Chief Engagement Officer
The BLC has never had a Chief Engagement Officer before now but never before has there been such an urgent need. Now that the talented diversity of our members is being recognized and appreciated, the BLC is poised to take advantage of tremendous opportunities to forge meaningful partnerships with corporations and other associations To do this, we hired Cory Thames who brings a wealth of relationships and the capacity to find common ground with our potential partners on BLC’s behalf.
To become more impactful, we must grow our influence by adding new members and also by building an alliance with a network of organizations statewide and across the country that share our aspirations and goals. We step boldly into the future to retool this organization for a new generation of business leaders who faces unlimited prospects for success.
Cory Thames
Chief Engagement Officer
BLC.
Making Our Voices Heard.
Civic and business leaders come
to the BLC, seeking support for positions and projects that impact the broader African American community. We carefully consider each proposal before deciding to add our voices and take a position.
BLC, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and Chicago Urban League Convene South Side Transit Coalition. Coalition formed to support One Central Project’s impact on the creation of a vitally important transportation network for the underserved areas of South Side Chicago.
BLC Presses City to Address Catch-22 for Minority firms. Minority suppliers become ineligible for special contracts if their average revenues surpass designated thresholds. The city is reviewing these equity caps as a result of BLC advocacy on the issue.
BLC joins forces with the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus to focus attention on the Remap and the Importance of Representation.
BLC hosted and participated in two Town Hall meetings statewide in May to call attention to the need for citizen participation in the redistricting process.
BLC Endorses Chicago State University’s appeal to U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth for funding CSU Science Lab. CSU needs federal funding to equip the Science Simulation Lab that will help address the severe shortage of Black and Latinx health sciences professionals.
BLC Joins Amicus Brief for Obama Presidential Center. BLC is one of 59 community organizations that appealed to the Federal Courts to dismiss all remaining legal actions that are impediments to work beginning immediately on the project that will bring thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in redevelopment to Chicago’s South Side.
BLC New Members
The Business Leadership Council is welcoming new members whose professional
skills, talents and business capabilities make us a more powerful voice for the
African American business community.
Construction
Timothy Hughes
President/CEO
Princeton Technical Services, Inc
Corporate
Danisha Hall
Director Corporate Communications
Peoples & North Shore Gas
Corporate
Jelani Rucker
General Manager Commercial Sales
Central Region, Armstrong World Industries
Member Spotlight
Madhi Hemingway
Vanguard Member
Madhi Heminggway is a Senior Investment Analyst (Private Markets) at Exelon Corporation. After receiving his MBA from Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School, Mahdi joined Exelon as the Treasury and Capital Markets Subject Matter Expert within the Exelon Audit Services group, where he managed the department’s budget and the financial planning and analysis process. Mahdi is currently part of the Private Markets team, within Exelon's Investment Office, where he and the team invests in alternative investment managers (e.g. Private Equity, Real Estate, Private Credit, Enhanced Fixed Income, etc).
Prior to business school, Mahdi has had a diverse career. Mahdi has served as a Non Commissioned Officer in the United States Marine Corps, where he oversaw day-to-day supply chain management for his battalion. Mahdi was previously a stock broker, equity and options trader, political fundraiser, and campaign organizer.
Mahdi is also a Trustee on the pension board of the Illinois Regional Transportation Authority-- an opportunity he was made aware of because of his membership in the BLC.
Mahdi aspires to be an entrepreneur. Specifically, he wishes to one day complete a leveraged buyout of a $1MM to $5MM EBITDA company, in the near future.
Mahdi enjoys time at home with his family, flying planes, being proudly mediocre at golf, being a landlord, trading options and futures, and researching investment opportunities.
Wilbur Milhouse
Milhouse Engineering
Wilbur C. Milhouse III, Chairman/CEO of Milhouse Engineering & Construction, Inc., is an award-winning entrepreneur who has transformed over 25 years of diversified civil and structural engineering experience into a global enterprise that has drawn national attention.
Founded in 2001, Milhouse Engineering & Construction, Inc. has a dedicated, multidisciplinary team of over 325 talented professionals, headquartered in Chicago with branch offices throughout the United States, Africa and Bermuda.
Mr. Milhouse is fiercely supportive of his community and the engineering profession through extensive involvement in civic, charitable and professional organizations. In 2012, Mr. Milhouse extended his reach to the community by co-founding Milhouse Charities– a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing academic achievements and opportunities for minorities and other underrepresented youth by supporting STEM-focused organizations.
On the international stage, Mr. Milhouse has founded both Power and Energy companies in Nigeria, where he is developing a 60 MW thermal power plant. The plant is expandable to 300 MW, which is enough power to supply the needs of millions of citizens in the Southeastern quadrant of Nigeria.
Mr. Milhouse is a proud graduate of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he earned both his M.S. in Structural Engineering and a B.S. in Civil Engineering. He holds professional engineering licenses in the following states Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin.
BLC Events:
Past &
Future
BLC’s goal is to educate, empower and enlighten our members about issues that impact our businesses and our communities. We invite impactful leaders to address our members and guests, to share their views and help us make informed decisions about our world.
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![BLC and Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Lead Partner Webinar]()
BLC and Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Lead Partner Webinar with Congresswoman Robin Kelly, Mesirow CEO Richard Price, Hyatt Corporation SVP Diversity and Inclusion Tyronne Stoudemire and Robert Blackwell, BLC Executive Committee Member
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April 28th, 2021
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Don and Liz Thompson Cleveland Avenue LLC and 1954 Project, June General Membership meeting
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June 10th, 2021
Upcoming Events
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![Chairman’s Breakfast, Robert Dunn One, Central Project]()
Chairman’s Breakfast
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Robert Dunn
One Central Project
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Chairman’s Breakfast with Illinois Department of Transportation
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Monday, August 9th
9:30AM
DBE Resource Center
900 South Des Plaines Street
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BLC Insights Speaker Series Kickoff with featured speakers Jim Reynolds and John Rogers
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“Building A Business From the Ground Up”
BLC Members in the News
Jim Reynold's Loop Capital Planning IPO; Plans $60M film studio
Chicago Business
Chicago Sun Times
Read More
Andrea Zopp
and Suzet McKinney
among Chicago's 100 Top Women Leaders
Read More
Steve Davis’s Will Group invests $20 million in West Side Chicago’s K-Town turnaround
Read More
Michael Sutton,
Infrastructure Engineering, Inc. appointed by
Governor Pritzker to Amusement Ride and Attraction Safety Board
Torrey Barrett’s Imagine Developers opens Park Supper Club—an upscale boutique eatery near Washington Park
Dr. Eric Whitaker’s Zing Health Launches Aggressive Expansion into 32 States
Museum of Broadcast History Honors BLC’s Melody Spann Cooper
UCAN’s Claude Robinson and Taft’s Graham Grady Featured Among Crain’s Chicago Business Magazine’s 2021 Notable Executives in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
BLC Executive Committee Member John Rogers featured on the CBS special “Tulsa 1921: An American Tragedy”
Always Giving Back Foundation, the non-profit entity of AGB, awarded $40,000 as one of a NBC News5, Telemundo Chicago, and Comcast NBCUniversal Media, LLC ‘s Project Innovation 2021 grant recipients for its creative approach to helping disrupt the cycle of poverty in Chicago.
SDI Presence Secures Significant Investment from Abry Partners, BLC member firm SDI Presence attracts major cash infusion but still maintains MBE ownership and commitment to empowering other M/WBE firms.
Opportunities for BLC Companies and Individuals
SECOND Quarter 2021
Chicago Hope Academy &
Chicago Lions Charitable Association
Multiple Construction Industry Opportunities
Department of Procurement Services (DPS)
Neighborhood Capital Improvement Contract(NCI) All -Areas
W.E. O'Neil Construction Co.
Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Participation Local 130 – Parking Garage
Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH)
Funding Opportunity for Online System
Discover Financial
Chatham Community Trades Outreach
Illinois Tollway
Diversity RFI Opportunity
Contact Center Services Operations
RGMA
RFI Opportunity
Contact Center Services Operations
LR Contracting Company
Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Participation
164 N. Peoria Street Project
Glenstar
Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Glenstar O'Hare, LLC
8535 West Higgins Road, Chicago, IL
Illinois Department of Transportation
Heavy Highway Contractor seeks
Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) On
Road Construction Projects
City of Chicago
Chicago Outreach Reminder: Target Market Opportunity: Construction Management Services for Capital Program