I am proud of the progress we made over the past five years. In 2017, the IMD welcomed Superior Ambulance, which opened Cook County's largest ambulance garage and created over 100 permanent jobs for Illinois residents. In 2018, we set the IMD on a more stable financial path by retiring the District's decade-old $40 million bond debt. In 2019, the Gateway came to life as Starbucks became the first retail operator to open for business as part of phase one of the 9.5 acre multi-use development.

We also welcomed the new Cook County Health Center, and witnessed the incredible transformation of the historic Cook County Hospital into a multi-use site that will provide a huge economic boost for the District and surrounding communities.

I’m proud of the development boom initiated in the IMD under my leadership. The District currently has nearly $1B projects underway or recently completed, and additional projects in the pipeline totaling over $500M. Leading the Illinois Medical District through this period of intense growth and development has been the honor of a lifetime. I am confident that the organization will continue on its current trajectory and I wish all the best to my incomparable team.

Last week, the IMD Board of Commissioners appointed IMD Chief of Staff Kate Schellinger as interim executive director, effective February 16. Ms. Schellinger will serve in this role while the IMD conducts its search for a permanent executive director.

Jesse Brown VA Medical Center is now able to offer the COVID-19 vaccine to Veterans who meet any one or more of the following criteria:

At this time, in order to make sure there is sufficient vaccine for the most at-risk patient groups, JBVAMC requests that eligible individuals schedule their vaccine appointment rather than walk-in. Veterans can schedule an appointment by calling 312-569-5801 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday thru Friday.

Earlier this month, American Red Cross partnered with ABC 7 Chicago for its 7th annual 'Great Chicago Blood Drive.' This year's event was held at five locations, including the Field Museum. The event was a major success, collecting 2,141 units of blood, which shattered last year's record of 1,830 units.

The need for blood donations is constant. Red Cross is doing everything it can to keep people safe and healthy during this pandemic. Each Red Cross blood drive and donation center follows the highest standards of safety. To ensure the health of staff and donors, Red Cross has implemented additional safety protocols during the coronavirus pandemic. To learn more or to schedule an appointment to donate, click here.

Dr. Murphy's Food Hall has launched an ongoing fundraising initiative called "Meals for Heroes", which aims to provide local medical workers with hot meals from the independent restaurant owners in the marketplace.

Food will be supplied by the passionate, hard-working vendors of Dr. Murphy's Food Hall, including Brekkie & Bake Shop, Crockett Cookies, Dimo's Pizza, Jarabe Taqueria, Kathmandu Momo Station, Lexington Betty, Lil' Delta, Maharani Indian Cuisine, and Viet Nom Nom.

These generous donations will also directly support the 10 small independent restaurant owners within the food hall, whose businesses have been severely impacted by the pandemic.

The Chicagoland Opportunity Zones Consortium and LOCUS are pleased to announce Pathways to Opportunity—a four-part, virtual series of networking and deal-making events for equitable real estate developers and social impact investors interested in learning more about real estate project and business investment opportunities in Chicagoland's Opportunity Zones.

The series' first event will spotlight the Illinois Medical District.

IMD Chief of Staff Kate Schellinger will share more about the IMD's bold Master Plan, social impact strategy, and Opportunity Zones sites ready for innovative development and investment partners. You can register for the event here.

Local, state and federal health officials continue to promote guidelines for citizens on how to protect themselves from COVID-19.

Individuals are encouraged to observe basic precautions to help protect against infection, such as:

Additional information is available via:

Our Catalyst newsletter exists in part to promote the great work of our IMD partners and friends. If you have news, events or information about your organization that you'd like us to include in a future edition of The Catalyst, please reach out to IMD Communications Director Ryan Gage.