August 11, 2020
Dear Members of the Authority:
Congratulations Will Hobert on becoming the Authority’s New Chair
On July 17, 2020, Governor Pritzker appointed Will Hobert to lead the Illinois Finance Authority
as its new Chair. First appointed as a Member of the Authority by the Governor a year ago, Will brings decades of financial industry knowledge to his volunteer role of Authority Chair. Chair Hobert is the founder and the Managing Member of WH Trading, LLC, a global propriety trading firm. WH Trading provides liquidity to a wide range of futures and options markets including: Interest Rate, Foreign Exchange, Agricultural Commodity, and Energy products. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace. Active in high-impact civic affairs, Will also (i) chairs the Board of My Block My Hood My City, a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization that provides underprivileged youth with an awareness of the world and opportunities beyond their neighborhood, (ii) serves on the President's Board of UCAN, a long-established not-forprofit organization that strives to build strong youth and families through compassionate healing, education and empowerment, and (iii) is involved with the Academy for Urban School Leadership (“AUSL”), a nonprofit school management organization that leads one of the largest networks in Chicago with 31 neighborhood Schools of Excellence. During these challenging times, the entire staff and I look forward to working with Will and all of the Authority Members to increase the Authority’s positive impact on the state economy and our fellow Illinois residents.
Welcome New Member Drew L. Beres and Congratulations to Members Poole and Wexler
We are also pleased to introduce the newest Authority Member, Drew L. Beres, also appointed by Governor Pritzker since our last meeting. Drew is an experienced lawyer focused on investment funds, securities matters, and corporate transactional matters. He also has an impressive record in public service, having served at a senior level in the office of former City of Chicago Treasurer, Kurt Summers. Finally, Drew is one of the founding partners of Croke Fairchild Morgan & Beres, LLC, a corporate boutique law firm with offices in Chicago, Milwaukee and Lake Forest. Through his combination of business and public sector experience, we look forward to Drew’s contributions to the Authority.
We also congratulate Roger Poole and Randal Wexler who Governor Prizker recently reappointed as Authority Members.
OSF Healthcare System
The OSF Healthcare System dates back to 1877, when the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis (the “Sisters”) were founded in Peoria, Illinois. Soon after their creation, the Sisters acquired the property which is now the site of OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. Throughout the twentieth century, the Sisters grew their network of hospitals in Illinois and expanded their reach, including the creation of the OSF Children’s Hospital of Illinois in 1990. Today, OSF Healthcare System is a nationally recognized, awardwinning healthcare system, operating fourteen acute care hospitals as well as home health care services, two colleges of nursing, a medical training simulation center and other health care facilities in Illinois and Michigan.
The Sisters have been pioneers of healthcare since the nineteenth century and still are today, working with the Authority to build a new comprehensive cancer center on the campus of OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. In February 2020, the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board approved a Certificate of Need application to build this center, which will deliver life-saving innovations and care to people in our communities. The comprehensive cancer center will feature patient education and support spaces, an infusion center, and a full range of cancer-related services, including proton beam therapy and brachytherapy. The proton beam will be just the second in Illinois, and one of only 32 centers currently in North America, treating patients. This project will elevate Peoria as a destination for world class cancer treatment as well as inspire a renewed sense of community pride. The goal is to provide the first treatments at the center as early as 2023.
Memorial Health System
The Authority welcomes Memorial Health System and its affiliate, Memorial Medical Center, each an Illinois not for profit corporation. Memorial Health System has five hospital affiliates in Springfield, Decatur, Lincoln, Jacksonville, and Taylorville. The System’s mission, to improve the health of the people and communities that the System serves, is evident in its effort to provide healthcare services across the full continuum of care to the citizens of central Illinois. This mission is achieved by providing a great patient experience which emphasizes primary care services as well as continuity and coordination of services between the System’s providers and partners. Today, the System is requesting your consideration to refund its outstanding Series 2014 Bonds.
Sustainable BioWorks, LLC
The Authority will also consider an inducement resolution for Sustainable BioWorks, LLC (“SBW”). Approval of this preliminary resolution will not authorize the issuance of bonds but enable SBW to prospectively refinance capital expenditures within the scope of the defined project and preserve SBW’s ability to finance these capital expenditures with a future tax-exempt revenue bond issue by the Authority. SBW is an Illinois company formed to develop, own, and manage a solid waste treatment and processing facility in Robbins that plans to convert pre-consumer food processing wastes into renewable natural gas, biogenic carbon dioxide (which will be recovered and resold), and fertilizer. SBW anticipates returning to the Authority’s agenda in the future to request consideration of a final bond authorizing resolution.
Hospital Sisters Services, Inc.
Finally, we are pleased to present for consideration an amendment for Hospital Sisters Services, Inc., another anchor, along with OSF Healthcare System and Memorial Health System, of quality healthcare across Illinois.
Respectfully,
Christopher B. Meister
Executive Director