Board member John Atkinson hosted a Friendraiser breakfast at Willis Tower on April 27 to introduce business and civic leaders to the Foundation. Board members, county commissioners Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner Debra Shore and Brookfield Zoo President and CEO Stuart Strahl were among those attending.

Tom Livingston, board chair and CSX Transportation regional vice president, applauded the Foundation’s role in giving his company a way to give strength to the Preserves’ strategic plan. “Chicago has many wonderful cultural institutions, but there’s a whole lot of county out there,” he said. “As a resident myself of Cook County, the Forest Preserves have a tremendous environmental impact as it relates to flooding and storm water management. So for us this has been a terrific way to give to something that does so much in so many different directions.”