ML - Michigan Avenue

2013 - Issue 5 - September

Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!

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CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Guy Maras is the current President of the Union League, which was founded in 1879 and is known for its focus on social advocacy; Rebecca Thomson is a newly elected member of its Board of Directors. you go [to relax]; it's a place that gives you access to many other places." The Union League does indeed open numerous doors. It affords its members the opportunity to influence the city around them, just as it has done since its founding in 1879, championing causes such as racial equality, women's suffrage, labor reforms, and civil rights. Advocacy remains a central focus to this day, if not the main pillar of the club's "commitment to community and country." It was here that Governor George Ryan announced a moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois. In the Presidents' Room, where past club leaders are honored, Senator Dick Durbin convinced a senator named Barack Obama to become a different sort of president. And so it continues. "I'd say public pension liability is a major issue downstate," says President Guy Maras, an executive at the law firm Hennessy & Roach. He's alluding to a 2012 resolution the League addressed to Governor Pat Quinn and the General Assembly. "And is redistricting being handled properly?" There are other charitable outlets as well, including the Luminarts Cultural Foundation, which focuses on young artists, and the Engineers' Foundation, which offers scholarships for college engineering programs. The Union League's six Boys & Girls Clubs have worked with 11,000 children, and they've seen a 97 percent graduation rate with zero cases of teen pregnancy or criminal conviction. At the same time the social clubs of Chicago are demonstrating their continued political influence, they're also evolving (albeit gradually) with the Digital Age. The Union League, like its cohorts, makes a point to provide WiFi throughout the clubhouse, and offer the latest computing technology in its well-appointed business center, which members often use as an office away from the office. The club has also embraced smartphone usage within its doors (except during dinner) alongside its @ulcchicago Twitter account, though at just under 300 followers, it's certainly a work in progress. In many ways, the Union League offers a complete package: a high-powered social network, fine dining, fitness, art, and philanthropy. But that doesn't mean there aren't challenges. Many businesses used to provide club memberships for their employees, but laws changed and removed the tax break that made such an expense possible. Membership declined, and up-and-comers joined less frequently. The recession made it worse. Clubs had to reinvent themselves or wither. At present, membership dues are tiered according to age and residency in the city, ranging from $195 per month for 21- to 24-year-olds at one end and $285 per month for those over 35. To become a member, one must be 132 sponsored by two existing members, submit three personal references, and be approved by the Board of Directors after a review period. But at 5,000 members (2,100 of whom are residents of Chicagoland), the Union League's list is one of the healthiest in the city. Twenty percent of its members are under the age of 35. Eighteen percent are women, and that number is growing. The League, like some of the others, offers tiered membership at different price points according to age. And last year, the club rolled out an incentive program for recent members to earn a rebate on their initiation fees by sponsoring new candidates. Growth continues to be paramount. MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM 130-137_MA_FEAT_Culture_Sept_13.indd 132 8/7/13 6:46 PM

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