Gerald J. Roper is the President and CEO of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce

Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce

The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit organization promoting business in the Chicago metropolitan area of the United States. The Chamber is a voice at local, state and national levels for approximately 2,600 member companies and their 1.3 million employees...

 located in Chicago, IL. Roper has been President and CEO of the Chamber since 1993.

As President and CEO of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Roper led the formation of Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center, an affiliate of the Chamber. He represents the Chamber on city 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. He was chosen by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich

Rod Blagojevich

Rod R. Blagojevich is an American politician who served as the 40th Governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A Democrat, Blagojevich was a State Representative before being elected to the United States House of Representatives representing parts of Chicago...

 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

Dennis Hastert

John Dennis "Denny" Hastert was the 59th Speaker of the House serving from 1999 to 2007. He represented as a Republican for twenty years, 1987 to 2007.He is the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history...

 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 received numerous awards recognizing his service, 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

Roosevelt University

Roosevelt University is a coeducational, private university with campuses in Chicago, Illinois and Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university is named in honor of both former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The university's curriculum is based on...

, Evelyn T. Stone College of Professional Studies 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.

External links

• Crain's Chicago Business: A City Business Hub: This Man's Datebook http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/mag/article.pl?id=22742