January 2017 Member Meeting

ChicagoFIRST has truly made a positive difference to the collective emergency preparedness and business continuity of Chicago’s financial community.  It has become a model for many other cities throughout the country.  We are especially grateful that the City of Chicago has an impressive reputation for working together with its business community, the State of Illinois and federal government agencies, and other key organizations through the ChicagoFIRST partnership structure.  This approach is extremely effective and helpful in supporting the broader Federal Reserve objective of maintaining a stable financial system.

Gordon Werkema, First Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

ChicagoFIRST is a dynamic, cutting edge organization and a model for how regional public/private partnerships can enhance the resiliency of financial institutions. ChicagoFIRST was founded because of the foresight of the Chicago financial services community, and it succeeds because of the cooperation and encouragement of the public sector, especially the City of Chicago and State of Illinois.

Rahm Emanuel, 5th Congressional District (D-IL)

The timely and accurate information streams that I receive through ChicagoFIRST more than justify membership. When the airplane landed in the Hudson River in New York City in January 2009, I learned about it before my colleagues in New York did.

Michael Wallace, Vice President, BMO Harris Bank