Summary

Graham helps clients obtain government entitlements and solve problems with units of local government. With a focus on the city of Chicago and Cook County, he helps secure necessary approvals for land developments in the Chicago metropolitan area. A consensus builder and negotiator, he maintains excellent relations with community organizations, local elected officials and other stakeholders. Graham provides legal counsel for compliance, regulatory, public policy and encompasses zoning, land use, building code compliance, licensing, construction agreements, government contracts, procurement and legislative approvals.

In the land use area, his experience includes securing all types of land use entitlements through planned developments, zoning map amendments, special uses, variations, text amendments and public way approvals. He represents property owners, real estate developers and every classification of real estate including retail, residential, commercial, industrial and myriad specialized land uses. He regularly represents clients before the Department of Buildings and the Fire Department.

Graham has obtained approvals through boards and commissions, including the:

  • Building Board of Appeals
  • Chicago City Council
  • Chicago Plan Commission
  • Commission on Chicago Landmarks
  • Committee on Standards and Tests
  • Committee on Zoning
  • Community Development Commission
  • Zoning Board of Appeals

Graham also serves as legal counsel to one of the five annuity and benefit funds of the City of Chicago, advising in a broad range of areas including compliance with the Illinois Pension Code, investment management agreements, open meetings and freedom of information act compliance and the fiduciary obligations of the trustees of the pension fund.

Graham gained government industry experience through his prior professional roles in municipal government, serving as:

  • Commissioner for the City of Chicago Department of Buildings managing the revisions of the Chicago Building Code, a staff of 500 regulatory employees and a budget of $34 million.
  • Zoning Administrator of the City of Chicago Department of Zoning directing revisions of the Chicago Zoning Ordinance, managing a team of building permit review staff in the review of permit applications seeking zoning conformance, managing a team of field inspectors and reviewing applications for zoning map amendments, planned developments, special uses, variations, exceptions and appeals.
  • Ex-officio member of the Chicago Plan Commission.

Graham has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America each year since 2009, and by Illinois Super Lawyers, 2017-2024 for land use and zoning law. He earned an AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating – the highest Peer Review Rating possible – by Martindale-Hubbell. Graham has been selected as a Top Ten Leading Lawyer in Illinois in Land Use & Zoning and a Leading Lawyer in Illinois in Governmental, Municipal, Lobbying & Administrative Law and Real Estate Law: Commercial. Graham was honored as a recipient of The Chicago Bar Association’s 2017 Earl Burrus Dickerson Award. He was also named to the Crain’s Chicago Business inaugural list of the Most Influential Minority Lawyers in Chicago in 2017 and again in 2020. He is honored by Crain’s Chicago Business as a 2021 “Notable Executives in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.” Grady also received the 2019 Lambda Alpha International Doris and Marshall Holleb Community Service Award. He was also elected as a Life Director of The Chicago Community Trust, African-American Legacy (AAL), in 2019.

Graham has lectured on land use law and development at Northwestern University School of Law, Northwestern University Graduate School of Management, Illinois Institute of Technology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Roosevelt University and DePaul University and the American Law Institute/American Bar Association Land Use Institute.

Graham has been listed in Crain’s Chicago Business’ “40 Under 40” and Ebony’s “30 Leaders Under Age 30.” In 2011, Chicago United selected Graham as the Business Leader of Color. Graham was a speaker at the Aspen Institute on the challenges facing public housing in Chicago and nationally.

Graham received his. B.A. from the University of Illinois, where he was a student member of the Board of Trustees. He earned his J.D., with honors, from Northwestern University School of Law.

Awards

  • Honoree, Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use (2022 – present)

  • Honoree, “Notable Executives in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” by Crain’s Chicago Business (2021)

    Honoree, “Notable Black Leaders and Executives” by Crain’s Chicago Business (2022)

  • Honoree, “Notable Minorities in Accounting, Consulting & Law” by Crain’s Chicago Business (2019 – 2020)

  • Honoree, Best Lawyers in America, Land Use and Zoning Law (2009 – present)

  • Honoree, Leading Lawyers (2003 – present)

  • Honoree, Illinois Super Lawyers, Land Use/Zoning (2017 – present)

  • AV Peer Review Rated, LexisNexis/Martindale-Hubbell

  • Honored as a “Director to Watch” by Private Company Director Magazine (2021)

  • 2019 Lambda Alpha International Doris and Marshall Holleb Community Service Award

  • “40-Under 40” Business Leader, Crain’s Chicago Business

  • The Doris B. and Marshall M. Holleb Community Service Award
    by Lambda Alpha International, Ely Chapter

  • Earl B. Dickerson Public Service Award, Maurice Weigle Public Service Award, Chicago Bar Foundation

  • Business Leader of Color Award by Chicago United

  • Life Fellow, American Bar Association

  • “30-Under 30” Business Leader, Ebony Magazine

All Service Areas

Education

  • Northwestern University School of Law (1983)
  • University of Illinois (1980)
  • Certified Counselor of Real Estate (CRE)®

Admissions

  • State - Illinois
  • Federal - Northern District of Illinois

Notable Matters

Healthcare:

  • The Admiral at the Lake continuing care retirement community in Chicago, Illinois
  • Highland Park Hospital redevelopment in Highland Park, Illinois
  • Northwestern Healthcare redevelopment in Evanston, Illinois
  • Northshore Medical Group, Lincolnwood, Illinois

Commercial and Residential:

  • Solstice on the Park (Proposed in Hyde Park) luxury condominium designed by Jeane Gang
  • City Hyde Park mixed-use retail and residential project designed by Jeanne Gang
  • Gateway Plaza 31-acre mixed-use retail shopping plaza
  • Holy Family Village unincorporated Cook County
  • Greystar Overture Edgewater active adult community

Manufacturing/Industrial:

  • Waste Management Calumet Industrial Disposal, bioremediation facility and Materials Recycling and Recovery Facilities
  • University of Chicago Planned Development amendment
  • Clark Oil Refinery, Blue Island, Illinois
  • USX South Works 120 acre mixed-use planned development

Institutional:

  • Navy Pier redevelopment for the New Shakespeare Theater
  • McCormick Place West Building, MPEA Corporate Center and Conference Center
  • Loyola University Planned Development

Speeches and Publications

Panelist, “Trend Watch: Market Performance, Development & Design,” Bisnow’s Chicago State of the Market event, Aug. 9, 2023.

Presenter, “Advancing Equitable Neighborhood Development in Chicago,” Chicago Emerging Minority Developer Initiative Summit, April 22, 2022.

Speaker at Chicago Emerging Minority Developer Initiative Summit, March 15, 2022.

Moderator for the Lambda Alpha International Ely Chapter’s Monthly Program. Topic is “C-PACE Financing: An Innovative Means of Promoting Sustainability,” March 16, 2022.

Quoted, “The Chicago Emerging Minority Developer Initiative (CEMDI) Strategy Report,” a three-year plan to expand the capacity of Chicago’s Black and Brown real estate community, Dec. 13, 2021.

Panelist, “Advancing Equitable Development and Inclusive Growth with Chicago Emerging Minority Developer Initiative,” Bisnow Construction & Development Chicago event, Creating a Safe, Healthy, & Equitable City, Nov. 4, 2021.

Featured, “Graham Grady: Making Connections and Giving from the Heart,” The Chicago Community Trust, Aug. 12, 2021.

Panelist, “Illinois Cannabis: Complex Legal Issues,” ISBA’s Health Care Law Section Council and Young Lawyers Division seminar, April 20, 2021

Interviewed, WTTW broadcast BLACK VOICES – Diversity in Development: How Black and Latino Developers Can Change the Map, April 11, 2021.

Co-host, Qualified Opportunity Zone investing program, IEDC Annual Conference, Oct. 14, 2020.

Panelist, Bisnow webinar, “Racial Equality—Diversity & Mentorship in CRE: Hiring, Mentoring, and Retaining More Diverse Industry Professionals,” July 2020.

Commencement address, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Department of Communication, May 2020.

Panelist, University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy Multi-Family Investor Summit 2.0, Jan. 2020.

Panelist, Chicago Bar Association Young Lawyer’s Section Real Estate Law Committee seminar “Real Estate Law and Cannabis Legislation,” Nov. 2019.

Moderator for the CRE: The Counselors of Real Estate Midyear Meeting. Topic was “Opportunity Zones: Challenges and Opportunities,” April 2019.

Author, “Building Code Modernization Ordinance: My Take” Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago (BOMA/Chicago) blog post, April 2019 issue.

Moderator for the Civic Federation and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s “Best Practices for Financing Illinois’ Infrastructure” seminar. Topic was “Building an infrastructure plan that meets critical needs,” April 2019.

Public Service Announcement, Business Leadership Council’s “Get Out the Vote” initiative, WVON 1690 AM radio, March 29-April 2, 2019.

Professional Affiliations

  • American Bar Association

    Member
    Retirement Funds, Former Director (offeror of tax-qualified 401k plans)

  • American Bar Foundation

    Former Director, Board of Directors

  • American Law Institute

    Former Faculty Member, Land Use Institute

  • Black Men Lawyers’ Association

    Member

  • Building Owners and Managers Association of Greater Chicago

    Director

  • Business Leadership Council
  • Chicago African-Americans in Commercial Real Estate
  • Chicago Architecture Foundation

    Director

  • Chicago Bar Association

    Member

  • Chicago Public Library Foundation

    Director

  • Commercial Club of Chicago

    Member

  • Economic Club of Chicago

    Member since 1995

  • Housing Authority Risk Retention Group, Inc.

    Former Director (captive mutual risk retention group)

  • Lambda Alpha Ely Chapter, Land Economics Honorary Society
  • Real Estate Executive Council
  • The Counselors of Real Estate

    Member
    Board of Managers, CRE Global LLC

  • The Lawyers Club of Chicago

    Member and Former President

  • The Realty Club of Chicago

    Member and Former President

  • World Business Chicago

    Member, Board of Directors

Community Involvement

  • Art Institute of Chicago

    Architectural and Design Committee

  • Charitable Advisory Council of the State of Illinois

    Member, appointed by Illinois Attorney General

  • Chicago Parks Foundation

    Former Director

  • Chicago Symphony Orchestra

    Association Director

  • Civic Consulting Alliance of Chicago

    Director

  • Civic Federation of Chicago
  • Cook County Economic Development Advisory Committee
  • DuSable Museum of African-American History

    Real Estate Committee

  • Leadership Greater Chicago

    Fellow

  • Lloyd A. Fry Foundation

    Vice Chair, Treasurer and Director

  • National Public Housing Museum

    Advisory Board

  • Nonprofit Advisory Council of the Office of the Illinois Comptroller

    Member, appointed by Illinois Comptroller

  • Northwestern University School of Law

    Visiting Committee, Former Member
    Bluhm Legal Clinic Advisory Board

  • Northwestern University Settlement House Foundation

    Director

  • Smithsonian Institution National Postal Museum

    Advisory Council

  • The Economic Club of Chicago
  • University of Illinois

    Board of Trustees, Student Trustee, 1979-80
    Alumni Association, Former Director

  • University of Illinois Research Park

    Board of Managers

  • WTTW/WFMT Public Broadcast Stations, Director
  • The Lincoln Academy of Illinois

    General Trustee

  • Chicago Mayor-Elect Brandon Johnson's Economic Vitality & Equity Subcommittee

    Member