Highlighting Community Builder

Dr. Mila Marshall CNW Staff Writer

On the last Friday of January, Chicago News Weekly brought out some of the most influential Chicagoans for an unforgettable celebration of Black community leaders and creatives. Over one hundred fifty guests were welcomed by The Onni Group sponsored ‘Community Builder Awards’ evening to acknowledge the extraordinary contributions and transformational leadership of eleven honorees. The event was hosted at the Emily Hotel located at 311 N. Morgan St., a boutique hotel in the Fulton Market District.

Leading ladies, Dawn Milhouse, Executive Director of Milhouse Charities; Nikki Hayes, Business Executive, and owner of Pier 31; Jackie Jackson Owner of seven Kilwins franchises throughout the Chicagoland community; and Charmaine Rickette, CEO of Uncle Remus Saucy Fried Chicken Restaurants, accepted their awards gracefully while inviting attendees to reflect with them upon the hard work it takes to be a Black woman in decision making roles in a major urban city like Chicago. Their collective accomplishments are responsible for creating opportunities for youth and businesses that parlay into employment for previously incarcerated or ‘hard-to-hire employees and owning and operating businesses in traditionally white commercial spaces like the lakefront.

The leading men are change agents, community leaders, visionaries, mentors, employers, philanthropists, and creative artists including Phillip Beckham, CEO of P3 Markets; Julian Green, Sr. Vice President of Communications and Community Affairs for the Chicago Cubs; Lt. Quention Curtis, President and Founder of the Black Fire Brigade; Pastor John Harrell, Founder of Black Men United; Vic Mensa, musician, and owner of 93 Boyz and the 27th ward Alderperson Walter Burnett Jr.

Entering his 8th term, unopposed, Alderperson Walter Burnett Jr. has the energy of a first-term elected official and the years of experience that makes him an impactful leader. Burnett’s tenure within ward 27 is in part due to his basic practice of doing what’s right for the community, building relationships with developers, and holding allies accountable for following through.

Black excellence was in full display as Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. accepted his award. Burnett’s humility is buttressed by unabashed truth and wisdom. Preparing to serve his 8th term since taking office in 1995, Ald. Burnett is now the longest-serving member of the City Council and the first African American to be the Dean of the City Council, which comes with his new position.

When asked about how it feels to hold that position he responded, “I find myself being called by many different colleagues. I’m a bit of a historian, and I’ve learned how to get things done in City Hall”.

He clenched the victory with 69.8% of the votes for his 7th term against challenger Cynthia Bednarz and is running unopposed in the February 28th election. His tenure with City Hall and his guaranteed seat at the council table gives his work no pause, rather it validates his purposefulness.

Ald. Burnett believes that “A community builder is one who is unselfish and brings everybody up with them, one who makes sure that whatever happens benefits everyone”.

With experience serving under 3 different administrations, the veteran Alderperson has learned how to lead the way to a win for all. Balancing the needs of his diverse community has required him to work with everyone across economic, racial, and other differences that ordinarily have given cause for inequity. But the seasoned elected said, “it isn’t just about what you do but how you do it”.

His work with The Onni Group is an example of his nearly two decades of experience listening, sharing, and negotiating put into motion for the benefit of all parties and hyperfocus on benefits for Black people.

“Some of my best relationships are the ones that didn’t start off that well. The Onni group came to the table as a Canadian company and committed to 20% affordable housing. Their track record for affordable housing was good and there was a commitment by The Onni

Group. but initially wasn’t honored. The first Onni team found a way to make more money by not honoring the affordable housing commitment and I threatened to downzone the property,” shared the Ald. Burnett.

Downzoning is the rezoning of land resulting in reduced or less intense use of a property. This exercise of exclusionary zoning has threatened affordable housing in Chicago for decades. In 2020, Mayor Lightfoot introduced a novel ordinance that expanded accessible dwelling units with the goal of increasing access to affordable units while also diversifying income for property owners with additional dwelling units.

Of the 57,468 residents in the 27th ward, 46.02% are Black, 29.79% are white, 15.35% Hispanic and 5.1% Asian according to the City of Chicago’s redistricted map demographics created in 2022. Ald. Burnett has dynamic diversity and constant development keeping him open to new ways of working but always protective of the overall equity mission.

“Progressivism is a good thing and when The Onni Group introduced Duncan Wlodarczak, the relationship shifted, and they complied with all our requests. They are truly a different type of developer,” said Ald. Burnett.

When asked what makes them so unique Burnett responded with two key differences. First, The Onni Group does not flip their properties meaning they retain ownership of all their purchases and secondly, they have their own capital. “A lot of developers have equity in a project, and they lose leverage trying to increase profits. The Onni Group’s model and financial autonomy with not relying on resources from banks let them balance their profits with purpose.”

- Ald. Burnett

As other developers suffer from higher interest rates or fickle lending The Onni Group can move in on projects bringing employment as well as ownership in alignment and agreement with the spirit of inclusivity. The relationship between Ald. Burnett on behalf of the 27th ward and The Onni Group led to the Canadian company building even stronger ties to the Black community through the recognition of other community builders and investing in the next generation.

The Walter Burnett Jr. Scholarship Award was created to give Chicago student scholars the opportunity to learn to envision and construct the community they live in. Such an opportunity surpasses the physical erection of buildings. But rather it brings together architects, technical designers, engineers, business, owners, financers, and urban planners to create who can create a living breathing successful community. The award seeks to expand and increase diversity in the field of commercial development.

“When Ald. Burnett was touring the development sites, he noticed the lack of diversity in management and supervisory positions, that awareness and good rapport between him and The Onni Group resulted in a tremendous commitment by the company to invest in the next generation of commercial real estate developers through the scholarship,” according to Maze Jackson, President of the Intelligence Group.

Access to capital and loan guarantees are an issue for most Black-owned businesses, but the dearth of Black commercial developers is in part due to unfamiliarity with the industry and few inroads via social networks. The Onni Group’s investment into diverse talent takes shape as a 10-year commitment for one student to annually receive $6,000 cash and a $6,000 stipend for a summer internship. Students from diverse backgrounds are welcome to apply with a special focus on increasing the number of Black applicants and students from the 27th ward. Those enrolled in 2-year or 4-year higher learning institutions will be eligible and selected by a committee each year. The Onni Group presented the first award to Texas Tech marketing major James Bass who will begin his internship with Onni summer of 2023.

The honorees were joined by a slew of elected officials, in attendance to commemorate the work of their esteemed colleague Ald. Burnett included Ald. Pat Dowell, Ald. David Moore, Ald. Derrick Curtis, Ald. Anthony Beale, and Commissioner Brandon Johnson, Candidate for Mayor, and others.

Along with The Onni Group, sponsors of the Community Builder Awards event included: the National Association of Promotional Retailers, The Chicagoland Mom Squad, WIIFTBP Media, and Level -1 Global Solutions.