Jerry Roper

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CEO Gerald J. Roper

Gerald J. Roper is the President and CEO of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce located in Chicago, IL. The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce serves more than 2,600 member companies, representing nearly one million employees, in the six-county Northeastern Illinois region. Roper has been serving as President and CEO of the Chamber since 1993.

As President and CEO of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Roper has promoted the entrepreneurial spirit in Illinois. He has been a leader and an advocate for the entrepreneurial community – as demonstrated by his leadership in the formation of Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center, an affiliate of the Chamber.

Roper represents the voice of the six county Chicago area business community on many Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley programs including the Zoning Reform Commission, the Mayor’s Council of Technology Advisors, the Chicago Workforce Board, and Mayoral Task Force on Employment of People With Disabilities^[1]. He has also been chosen by Illinois Governer Rod Blagojevich to be placed on the Governor’s Workers’ Compensation Advisory Board, and the Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.

Also known as an outspoken advocate of transportation, including aviation, rapid transit and high speed rail. His aviation advocacy includes service on the National Commission to Ensure Consumer Choice and Information in the Aviation Industry as an appointee of House Speaker Dennis Hastert in 2002. He is also a founding member of Business Leaders for Transportation, which focuses on the various forms of transit and transportation that businesses and their employees use every day.

Roper has also recently taken a stand against the Cook County budget tax increase.^[2]

Roper has received numerous awards recognizing his service to the association, convention and tourism, and business communities, including: Meeting Planners International, Chicago Chapter, 1997 Kathy Osterman Industry Award; the 1997 Harold Washington College Distinguished Business Leader Award; the 2000 Roosevelt University Lifetime Achievement Award; the 2003 Illinois Hotel and Lodging Associations Ambassador of Hospitality Award; a Master of Hospitality and Tourism Management Honoris Causa from Roosevelt University, Evelyn T. Stone University College in 2003; and the 2005 Good Citizen Award, from the Chicago Area Council, Boy Scouts of America and the Learning for Life Law Enforcement Luncheon Steering Committee.

A native of Pittsburgh, PA, he and his wife Carol reside in the city of Chicago.