On Friday, September 14th, Chicago Community Leaders gathered at Wrigley Field as a follow-up to the Kemp Forum on Expanding Opportunity, which took place on May 11th, 2018. These three summer KFEO meetings have provided opportunities for networking and sharing best practices, which have fostered relationships among businesspersons, nonprofit workers, entrepreneurs, government officials, and organizations.
At Wrigley, the morning began with Jimmy Kemp welcoming everyone and introducing the first panel. Meghan Harte, LISC Chicago, moderated a panel on “Identifying Yourself as an Asset and Getting on the Map.” Neli Vazquez Rowland, A Safe Haven, Carlos Nelson, Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation, and Jason Wood, Businessman and Investor, provided great insight into how to leverage your organization for investment.
Following the first panel, Illinois Deputy Governor Leslie Munger and Department of Planning and Development Commissioner David Reifman expressed their desire to help Illinois and Chicago communities through the implementation of opportunity zone legislation. Lastly, Dan Kowalski, Counselor to Secretary Mnuchin, answered specific questions from community leaders about the national considerations of implementing opportunity zone legislation.
Everyone is eagerly awaiting the arrival of Treasury guidelines for implementing opportunity zone and fund policy, which are set to arrive by the end of 2018. There was great hope captured during the conversations taking place Friday–hope that can spread through the nation as investment in American businesses abounds.
Interested in learning more about opportunity zones? This year’s Kemp Leadership Award Dinner will have a unique focus on the legislation. Stay tuned – you won’t want to miss it!