Lavin has nineteen years of experience and a record of job creation and financial management in both the business world and in Illinois state government.
Jack grew up in Elmhurst, in the Chicago suburbs. He graduated from York High School and holds both a Masters’ degree in business from the University of Chicago with a specialization in finance as well as a Masters’ degree in international relations from the University of Chicago. He also completed a semester of graduate studies at Yonsei University in South Korea. He is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Illinois at Champaign.
Jack is an involved community leader, father and husband. He and his wife Kathy have three children; Emily - 8, Michael - 6, and Katie - born December of 2004.
Professional Success
As Director of DCEO, Jack has led the total reorganization of the agency, which included the introduction of regional business outreach and goals, the coordination of state job training programs geared for maximum economic impact, and the overall streamlining of the agency.
Among his key accomplishments at DCEO are the passage of legislation to ensure corporate accountability in the application of state business incentive programs, the passage and implementation of new film tax credits that have revitalized that industry, and the creation of new, innovate job training programs – including programs that partner with existing businesses, identify critical skill shortages, and/or aim at preparing the disabled for the workforce.
In addition, since taking his current position, he has help convince 3 Fortune 250 Companies to locate their headquarters in Illinois: Hospira, Astellas-Pharma and Innovene.
Jack also served as Deputy State Treasurer for Illinois from 1993-1995, where he was directly responsible for all investment strategies and programs in the Treasurer’s $5 billion annual investment portfolio. Prior to that, he was Director of Development Finance for the State Treasurer from 1991-93.
Among Jack’s major accomplishments as Deputy Treasurer is a tripling of funds invested in economic development – from $221 million in 1990 to over $830 million in 1994. The economic development programs he oversaw helped more than 25,000 Illinois families and businesses gain access to credit by investing more than $2 billion in the Illinois economy. These programs helped the office win awards from the National Association of Women Business Owners, the Illinois Coalition for Citizen with Disabilities and the African-American Contractor’s Association.
During Jack’s four years in the State Treasurer’s Office, the Treasurer also made significant investments in banks to ensure the availability of loans to create and expand businesses, including employee-owned, minority-owned and women-owned businesses, as well as for veterans and rural health clinics. These loans created or retained 7,800 permanent jobs, over 6,000 housing units over 10,000 low-cost, first-time homebuyers’ mortgages.
During his tenure as Deputy Treasurer, the office won the Government Finance Officers’ Association’s 1994 award for excellence for the Small Business Means Big Business program, which he developed and oversaw.
In addition, Jack served on the Board of the Prairie State 2000 Authority from 1991-1995. This Authority was the premier job-training agency for the State of Illinois for retraining already employed workers in the new global economy.
Outside of his extensive experience in government and economic development, Jack served in key financial positions in the private sector.
Serving the community
Jack is active as a volunteer in public education and in support for children with Down’s Syndrome. Along with his wife, he has served for four years as co-coordinator for the city of Chicago parent support group for the National Association for Down’s Syndrome.
Jack has also served as chair of the Chicago Public Schools’ Special Education Task Force. The Task Force was formed to give recommendations to the CEO of the Chicago Public Schools and the Mayor of Chicago on improving special education services for children in the city.
He served for six years on the Alexander Graham Bell Local School Council, where he chaired the budget committee and played a major role in raising money for libraries, computers and teachers and the first ever Citywide Deaf Olympics. He was Treasurer for the last four years for the Friends of Bell School, a parents support group that helps raise money for school projects. In addition, he led the effort by the Bell Neighborhood Association to raise money to build and design a play lot at Bell School, the only play lot within a four-square-block area. Jack met his wife, Kathy, serving on that committee.
Jack was Treasurer and a member of the board of Jobs for Youth, the premier job training and placement social services agency for the city of Chicago. The group places over 1,500 people per year in jobs. Jack has also been a long-time volunteer for Misericordia and is a former President of the largest student YMCA in the United States. He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the YMCA at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.