The conference, hosted by Real Estate Media, publishers of Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com, begins at 7 a.m. with a welcome breakfast followed by opening remarks by Jonathan Schein, president and chief executive officer of Real Estate Media. Kicking off the day's events, Diane Swonk, senior managing director and chief economist of Mesirow Financial, will deliver the morning's keynote address. Swonk will offer an in-depth perspective on Chicago's multifamily boom and its duration reflective of current and future economic trends.

The audience-pleasing Town Hall panel will follow, which will be moderated by GlobeSt.com's national online editor John Salustri. The panel will debate subjective views regarding the health of the Chicagoland market and will feature several prominent players, including Karen Case, group senior vice president, LaSalle Bank; George Kohl, executive vice president, Trammell Crow Co.; Daniel McLean, president and CEO, MCL Cos.; Greg A. Moyer, managing director, Marcus & Millichap; Steve Stratton, president, the Staubach Co., Midwest Division.

The balance of the morning will be filled with panel discussions on topics including Chicago's Downtown office market, the struggles and opportunities of Chicago's suburban market, and the status of debt and equity capital markets. Several key companies will be represented to offer insights to these topics, such as Trizec Properties, Hines, CB Richard Ellis, Equity Office, Duke Realty Corp., Venture One Real Estate and the Alter Group.

Later in the morning, Michael Desiato, editorial director of GlobeSt.com and group managing director of Real Estate Media, will interrogate John Buck, chairman and CEO of the John Buck Co. during the popular conference segment, "Inside the Real Estate Mind." In a discussion that promises to be "entertaining and informative," the face-to-face dialogue will touch on Buck's roots in rural Texas, his early days in Chicago real estate, his rise in development and how he plans to move ahead in the market's current lagging conditions.

Subsequent to the RealShare networking luncheon, the rest of the afternoon will be dedicated to discussions on tenant-in-common investment and finance issues. During this segment, attendees will learn what's making the TIC business tick, what properties work as TICs, who is financing the deals, and hot-button tax, legal and regulatory issues impacting the TIC market. Featured panelists include Brian E. Eliason, CEO, Eliason 1031 Properties Corp.; Michael McQuay, president and CEO, Principal Equity Management LP; and Mark Quam, president, Welton Street Investments.

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RealShare EXCLUSIVE: Conference Offers Solutions for Sluggish Market

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