Daley Taps Department Veteran For Planning and Development Commissioner

CHICAGO-Alicia Mazur Berg, a 10-year veteran of the city’s department of planning and development, is Mayor Richard M. Daley’s choice to become that office’s commissioner. Pending city council approval, the 37-year-old Berg succeeds Christopher Hill, who has moved on to Grubb & Ellis.

While Daley praised Berg as “an excellent leader,” former first deputy commissioner Lori Healey had been rumored to be his top choice for running the department charged with promoting economic development in the city’s neighborhoods. However, Healey reportedly declined the $125,000-a-year post, opting to stay with the architectural firm she joined in 2000.

However, developers and city hall insiders say Daley may have chosen the best person to maneuver projects through the delicate maze of often competing city hall and community interests. “She has a good grasp of the issues involved, is a good communicator and works things through to reach a consensus,” said Chief Operating Officer Michael Pepper of Loop-based Fifield Co.