Chicago Civic Federation leader Laurence Msall remembered as champion for sound fiscal stewardship

As leader of the Chicago Civic Federation, Laurence Msall’s guidance and insights helped shape city, county, and state finances for two decades with his views sought out by business and political leaders. He died Saturday. He was 61. 

Msall took over as president of the 129-year-old non-partisan research organization two decades ago. It was a position that allowed him to marry his political acumen — working for two Republican governors — and financial knowledge garnered from those positions as well as his time at the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Msall’s death Saturday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago from complications following heart surgery earlier in the week reverberated across the public finance community from bankers and business leaders who are among the federation’s long list of board and council members to government officials.

Fostering business and philanthropic financial support, Msall catapulted the organization’s reputation, expanded the staff and research capabilities while balancing fiscal policy recommendations with the interests of taxpayers and the business community — no easy task as sometimes those interests run counter to each other.

“That was his mark — in the interest of being non-partisan he would try to find middle ground,” said Richard Ciccarone, president of Merritt Research Services and a federation board member since 1994 as well as a former executive committee member. “He listened to all constituencies. He was an excellent spokesman for the federation members, taxpayers, and the municipal bond community. You could say he was born for the job.”

“Laurence was such an important bridge between the business community and government, holding the city, state, county and other units of government accountable by analyzing their budgets,” said state Comptroller Susana Mendoza. “He knew it was important for the state’s business leaders to hear the government perspective too. Even if I disagreed with some of his or his board’s policy positions, he was so professional in debating the pros and cons of budget options.”

Msall’s acumen for parsing complex fiscal issues into plain English made him a go-to source.  “He was able to take the sometimes arcane language of public finance and make it accessible to people from all walks of life. His insights, intellect and sense of humor will be profoundly missed,” said Rick Mattoon, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago economist and vice president and regional executive of the Detroit branch and a federation council member.

The federation publishes in-depth research on the city and its sister agencies, Cook County budgets, tax policies, pensions, and legislation that stands to impact their fiscal health. It tracks state finances through its initiative — the Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability— established with grant funding. The federation also annually gives awards for public service.

The federation doesn’t shy away from butting heads with political leaders.

The federation recently published a piece on data, bail reform and crime and Msall called for a “cultural transformation” of the Chicago Police Department amid concerns over crime levels in a recent published opinion piece.

While supporting the last state budget, Msall took lawmakers to task for failing to act on property tax reforms. He opposed Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s constitutional question to move to a graduated income tax, which later failed at the ballot, and continued to press for state action on local government pension woes.

Political leaders boast of the federation’s budget endorsements, but the praise often includes caveats over the federation’s “concerns” or specific items it “opposes.”

“When I was CFO of the city, I constantly asked myself ‘what would Laurence think of this idea?'” said Lois Scott, who served as former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s first chief financial officer as he sought to tackle the city’s struggling pension system. “He was the North Star for so many civic and government leaders.”

Msall’s criticisms could sting but were considered fair, and the praise he handed out was boasted about by leaders.   

“He was always brutally honest, generously kind, fair and balanced. He knew short-term fixes were imaginary and long-term progress essential. He made me work harder, be bolder, tackle the intractable,” said Scott, who sits on the federation’s board.  

The federation pressed the city to trim the use of one-time fiscal maneuvers, like scoop-and-toss debt restructuring, and Emanuel used the federation’s stage to announce he was phasing out various one-time fiscal measures.

Msall had the ear of political leaders even if they didn’t heed his advice.

“Even if we disagreed with some of the outcomes at times, he spent the time to review and explain those positions, and that was invaluable to understanding the never-ending complexities of municipal finance and budgeting,” said Alderperson Scott Waguespack, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Finance Committee chair. 

While public finance and government officials disagreed with the federation sometimes, Msall’s criticisms were never personal, and his advice extended beyond finances.

Chicago CFO Jennie Huang Bennett recalls briefing Msall on the 2021 budget proposal amid the height of the COVID-19 pandemic’s fiscal blows and before passage of the American Rescue Plan Act relief as the city faced a $1.2 billion deficit.  She shared with him the late hours she was spending on the budget.

“He told me to go home, see my kids, and be a mom first because that’s what’s most important.  That’s who Laurence was,” Bennett said. “He was always an independent voice for good public policy. But behind the scenes he was also an advisor and one of our greatest champions of the work we did to turn the city’s finances around.”

“Above all else, he was a kind, generous, and empathetic man who was always willing to roll up his sleeves to help,” Lightfoot said in a statement. “He always asked how he could help and provided me with his unvarnished and helpful counsel.”

During any civic gathering or award ceremony where Msall spoke, he always credited the work of the federation’s staff that provided the backbone of his commentary, and his staff remember him fondly.

“Not only did I learn a lot from him, but at the end of literally every work day, he would say goodnight to each staff person in the office and thank them for their work that day,” said Katy Broom, a former spokeswoman for the federation. “Laurence took his work seriously but he never took himself too seriously. He considered everyone a friend, from governors to the folks who worked at his favorite restaurants.”

Civic Federation chairman Donovan Pepper called Msall a “brilliant, passionate leader and dear friend.”

“While it is difficult to think about replacing a person many see as an irreplaceable leader, we will also be communicating interim and longer-term leadership plans,” Pepper said in a message to members.

Msall was chosen from among various candidates to fill the role of president. Msall had served as the senior advisor for Economic Development to former Illinois Gov. George Ryan and holds a law degree.

Previously, Msall served as the vice president of the Commercial Club of Chicago, a non-profit group of Chicago’s senior business and civic leaders. It was that experience that especially impressed the federation’s board members, Ciccarone recalled. Msall also worked in former Gov. James R. Thompson’s administration.

Msall was born in Chicago, the eighth of 10 children.

Msall favored an Old Fashioned and a glass of good red wine. He lunched at Petterino’s so frequently that he had his own booth, designated with his name on a plaque. He favored the White Sox over the Cubs, was an avid runner, considered himself a good fisherman, and loved a good joke.

Waiting in line at the bar at the Irish Fellowship Christmas Luncheon with Msall, Stifel public finance banker Omar Daghestani said Lightfoot came over. “Laurence offered Mayor Lightfoot congratulations on the city’s credit upgrades and asked if she wanted to cut in front of us.” She didn’t.

“Laurence was a tireless advocate for good public policy and was universally respected in our great city and state,” said Daghestani, who Msall recently asked to join the board’s executive committee.

If something came before his civic efforts, it was his family.

“He was so family-oriented and never made a distinction between his three girls from his first marriage and his stepchildren. They were all just his kids. He loved them all dearly and never missed a soccer game or an event or an airport pick-up,” the federation’s Broom said.

Msall is survived by his wife, Nicola Hill-Cordell, three daughters from his first marriage to Mary Jo Smith — Lucille, Camille and Matilda — and five stepchildren Alex, Samantha, Tommy, Tess and Oscar; three grandchildren, and eight siblings.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, February 7 at Salerno’s Galewood Chapel in Chicago and a funeral mass is at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Giles Church in Oak Park. Memorials will also be held.