Mr. Charity earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1975. He received his law degree in 1979 from Harvard University Law School. He was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1979 and to the Illinois bar in 1982.
From June, 1979 through December, 1981, Mr. Charity was an associate with the Cleveland, Ohio law firm of Thompson, Hine & Flory. In 1982, Mr. Charity joined the Chicago law firm of Hopkins & Sutter as an associate in the Real Estate Section. He was admitted as an income partner in 1985 and as an equity partner in 1989. From June, 1992 through December, 1993, Mr. Charity served as of counsel to the firm of Greene and Letts. In January of 1994, Mr. Charity started his own law firm, Charity & Associates, P.C., specializing in commercial real estate and municipal finance.
While on a leave of absence from Hopkins & Sutter during the period of June, 1985, through May, 1987, Mr. Charity served in the Administration of the late Mayor Harold Washington, first as head of the Real Estate division of the Corporation Counsel’s Office and, finally, as Assistant to the Mayor’s Chief of Staff.
He has over 25 years’ experience in real estate law, representing banks, developers and governmental authorities in such areas as real estate lending, loan restructuring, workout of distressed assets, zoning, tax increment financing, leasing and land acquisition and disposition. He has been involved in real estate transactions in several states, including California, Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio, as well as Illinois.
In August of 2006, Mr. Charity was appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley as Chairman of the Chicago-Gary Regional Airport Authority. From 1992 until January 2000, Mr. Charity served as Chairman of the Community Development Commission of the City of Chicago. His other professional and civic affiliations include membership in Lambda Alpha (Land Economics Society), where he served on the Executive Council in 1990-91, membership on the Real Estate Law Section Council of the Illinois State Bar Association (1990-91) and membership on the Executive Committee of the Chicago Riverwalk Project (1989-91). In addition, Mr. Charity is currently a member and past President (1996-98) of the Board of Managers of the Martin Luther King Boys and Girls Club. He is also a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and an alumnus of Leadership Greater Chicago, Class of 1988/89.
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