Civic Federation Luncheon Honors Abbott and John F. Sandner

June 25, 2010

On June 10th at the Palmer House Hilton in downtown Chicago, the Civic Federation honored the outstanding civic leadership of John F. Sandner, Retired Chairman and Member of the Executive Committee of CME Group, Inc., with the Lyman J. Gage Award for Outstanding Civic Contribution. Abbott, a global, broad-based health care company, received the Addams-Palmer Award for Exemplary Civic Involvement. Abbott Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Miles D. White accepted the award on behalf of his company. Read more about the Civic Federation Awards here.

More than 500 of Chicago’s and Illinois’ most prominent business and political leaders attended the luncheon.

The luncheon program included a salutation address by City of Chicago Treasurer Stephanie Neely in which she congratulated Abbott and John F. Sandner  for their civic commitment to the City of Chicago and the world. She highlighted the Civic Federation’s important role in bringing together business, civic, and government experts to provide input to state, county, and local governments as well as informing the public and media. Treasurer Neely also discussed some of the City’s program initiatives, such as the After School Matters and Gallery 37 youth education programs, the Urban Prep Charter School, and the Small Business Expo that serves Chicago small businesses.

After lunch, Civic Federation Chairman Thomas McNulty detailed some of the Federation’s major accomplishments in the past year including the release of the Fiscal Rehabilitation Plan for the State of Illinois, the financial analysis of the Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid, and the Federation’s role in making the independent Cook County Health and Hospital System board permanent. Chairman McNulty also acknowledged the hard work of the Civic Federation’s Board members in guiding Civic Federation policy discussions.  

Luncheon co-chair Lester Crown then presented the Addams-Palmer Award for Exemplary Civic Involvement to Abbott Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Miles D. White. A part of the Chicago community for over 120 years, Abbott is among the area’s largest companies in terms of sales, employees, and philanthropic giving. In 2009 alone, Abbott and its non-profit foundation, the Abbott Fund donated more than $580 million to charitable causes around the world.

Abbott’s philanthropic mission has also focused in on the needs of its hometown of Chicago. The AIDS Foundation of Chicago, the Chicago Parkways Foundation Wellness Centers, the Greater Chicago Food Depository, and many other local organizations have benefited from Abbott’s dedication to ensuring people across the Chicago area can live healthier lives.

Abbott’s generosity has also improved the financial healthof a range of civic institutions and causes in Chicago, including the Lyric Opera, the Museum of Science and Industry, Renaissance 2010, the Field Museum, the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Civic Federation. At the Lyric Opera, Abbott is a leading donor and has sponsored 16 season-opening opera productions in a row.

The Lyman J. Gage Award for Outstanding Civic Contribution was presented by luncheon co-chair Andrew J. McKenna to John F. Sandner, Retired Chairman and Member of the Executive Committee of CME Group, Inc. Mr. Sandner helped the Chicago Mercantile Exchange go public and become the first U.S. exchange to be publicly traded. Mr. Sandner’s commitment to civic leadership is considerable – in 1994, while at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, he founded Amicus, a corporate citizenship and community outreach program that draws its volunteers from the business community.

Just last year, Amicus volunteers helped the Chicago Food Depository collect more than 100,000 pounds of donated food at its annual Food Rescue Mission at McCormick Place and raised more than $300,000 in donations for the food bank. Mr. Sandner also single-handedly doubled the size of the Notre Dame Kresge law library by helping add more than 100,000 volumes to the collection, making it one of the top 25 academic legal collections in the country.

Mr. Sandner serves as a trustee at Roosevelt University, Rush University Medical Center, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Museum of Science and Industry, and the Shedd Aquarium. He is chairman of the Cancer Institute at Rush and is deeply involved with many other causes.   

The annual Civic Federation luncheon serves as a tribute to the honorees’ commitment to the Chicago area. The generous support that the Civic Federation receives from this event also allows the organization to continue its efforts to promote rational tax policies and to improve government efficiency.

(L to R) Laurence Msall; Luncheon Co-Chair Lester Crown; Miles D. White who accepted the Addams-Palmer Award for Exemplary Civic Involvement on behalf of Abbott; John F. Sandner, recipient of the Lyman J. Gage Award for Outstanding Civic Contribution; and Luncheon Co-Chair Andrew J. McKenna.