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Karen Case is a well-respected real estate lender in Chicago. Her company, The PrivateBank, has been responsible for providing financial support to Chicago’s built environment for many years.

When she is not working as the company’s president of commercial real estate, Karen is an active civic leader. She has served on the CAC Board of Trustees and we appreciate her dedication to our organization.

Karen has truly has been a catalyst for some of our city’s biggest development projects, guiding them from start to finish. We were delighted to present Karen with this year’s Catalyst Award at our 2017 No Small Plans Gala!

What makes you proud to work for The PrivateBank?

At The PrivateBank, we embrace a strong commitment to partnering with the real estate development community to build responsibly and to promote the legacy and growth of our amazing city. Today, we at The PrivateBank have nearly $1 billion in loans invested in Chicago’s neighborhoods stretching from the far north side to the south, from Streeterville to the West Side, and everywhere in between. The projects we finance—office buildings, industrial properties, retail centers, brand new high rise and vintage residential buildings and even a hotel or two—touch us all, providing places for us to work, live, play and shop.

Why is CAC important to you?

Under Lynn Osmond’s leadership, equal parts creativity, integrity and inspiration, CAC makes sure that the built environment doesn’t go unnoticed; that it is front and center for those of us who are lucky enough to live here, and for the millions who visit. They hold all of us responsible for building vibrant communities and bringing innovation to the landscape. CAC also demands that we look through the windshield to see where we can go next, and you know, the windshield is bigger than the rear view mirror for a reason. Nowhere is that more evident than with the No Small Plans and Meet Your City initiatives.

What does receiving the Catalyst Award from CAC mean to you?

It is a true honor to receive this award from the Chicago Architecture Center and I am grateful and humbled to accept it. The award is even more meaningful knowing who has received it in the past. Bob Wislow, the 2016 CAC Legacy Award honoree, has influenced countless numbers of people by the remarkable example he has set. The good work he does as a civic leader is reflected throughout the city—in our hospitals, our libraries, our universities and our cultural institutions. Chicago is a better place because of him and I hope I will leave a legacy as strong as his.