News from the Chicago Chapter

Report from IREM Spring 2016 Legislative and Leadership Summit: Impact of 2016 Presidential Election

By Kris Haskins, CPM®
Senior Property Manager, Colliers International
IREM Chicago 2014 President and Executive Council Member

This year, with the 2016 presidential election happening in November, there is always more concern and questions regarding issues that will affect business and bottom lines.  At the IREM Spring 2016 Legislative and Leadership Summit, participants learned about post-election trends and were told that nothing will be agreed upon in Congress regarding Carried Interest or the 1031 Exchanges.  Congress wants to group all the tax reform issues together and analyze them as a whole and will not separate any one issue.  What’s more, due to the pending election, these issues will not even be addressed this year.

Every year, IREM hosts a Chapter Leadership Forum, and this year our very own 2016 President Brian Lozell, CPM® was one of the professionals on the panel.  The discussion centered on “Lessons Learned – Secrets of Successful Chapters.” The topic touched on Chapter succession plans and how to obtain council/board members as well as more volunteers for committees.  Even though IREM Chicago is the largest chapter in terms of membership, we often struggle with our leadership succession plan every year.  We returned to Chicago with several ideas.  One is to engage members in meetings by adding a personal touch, such as a recently completed business deal or new management contract.