The biggest names in Chicago’s commercial real estate finance industry gathered Feb. 27 for Illinois Real Estate Journal’s Chicagoland Capital Markets conference.
Held at Maggiano’s Little Italy in Oak Brook, Illinois, the event featured expert commentary on the state of Chicago’s commercial real estate industry and plenty of opportunities for networking.
The mood during the event was optimistic. Yes, Chicago’s real estate market faces challenges, and so do the lenders providing capital to this market. Every city’s CRE market does. But Chicago also has several major advantages — its qualify infrastructure, strong labor force, access to transportation and location in the center of the country — that give its CRE market an edge.
And for the panelists addressing the region’s biggest commercial lending topics? They said they were grateful to be doing business in the Chicago market.
The conference kicked off with the Navigating the Credit Market and Permanent Debt’s Role in Real Estate Financing in 2026 panel. Speaking on it were Rushi Shah, Chairman and CEO, Mag Mile Capital; Charles Krawitz, Executive Vice President and Chief Capital Markets Officer, Alliant Credit Union (Moderator); Jeff Lizzo, Managing Director, STREAM Capital Partners; Ashley Szatkowski, VP Credit Administration, Inland Mortgage Capital; and Jake Clopton, President, Clopton Capital.
Speaking on the event’s second session, the Leveraging Tax Law Changes for Chicago Real Estate Opportunities in 2026 panel, were Brian Liston, Partner | Liston & Tsantilis, P.C. (Moderator); Mary Kate Fitzgerald, Partner, Fitzgerald Law Group P.C; Ellen Berkshire, Partner, Verros Berkshire; Monte Hilleman, Vice President, Environmental Resiliency, Compliance & Investment, Sustainable Investment Group (SIG); and Jessica MacLean, Partner, Worsek & Vihon, LLP.
The Banking & Construction Lending Trends in 2026 panel featured Mark C. Spears, Managing Director, Group Head, Commercial Real Estate, Central Region, CIBC; Mark Ptacek, Senior Vice President, Heartland Bank; Gina Fridberg, Executive Vice President – NW CRE Hub Leader, Wintrust Commercial Real Estate (Moderator); Matthew McCormack, Senior Vice President, Originations, PACE Loan Group; and Chris Ellis, Senior Director, Nuveen Green Capital.
The day’s final session, the Commercial Real Estate Equity Investor Criteria & Deal Flow for 2026 panel, included speakers Karen Kulczycki, CCIM, SIOR, Vice President, SVN Chicago Commercial; Alissa Adler, Office Capital Markets (Moderator); Joe Smazal, Senior Managing Partner, Interra Realty; and Noah Birk, Partner, Kiser Group.
