The Annual Event: An MPC tradition
MPC is known for convenings, and every year we host one that is our biggest, most diverse, and most elegant: Our Annual Event. The 1,000-guest banquet is a crossroads of influential decision makers and grassroots change makers from across sectors and industries. Tech entrepreneurs mingle with public radio hosts, elected officials, environmentalists, and C-suite executives in any corner of the room.
The Annual Event centers compelling programming, thanks in part to longtime sponsor, PNC Bank. Past speakers include MacArthur "Genius" Raj Chetty, who illuminated how children's earliest lived experiences impact their economic advancement and Lonnie G. Bunch III, Founding Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, who told colorful stories behind the objects in the famed "Blacksonian". Past speakers also include President Barack Obama (during his 2004 campaign for U.S. Senate); Julia Stasch, President of The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; and Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation. Honorees include King Harris, Patrick G. Ryan, John W. Rowe, Miles D. White, Andrew J. McKenna, Frank Clark and Lester Crown.
Previous Annual Event events
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Sep 21, 2022
Wednesday
- Annual Event: Honor The Heritage, Embrace The Future
Morgan Manufacturing, 401 N. Morgan St. Chicago
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Sep 21, 2021
Tuesday
- Better//Together: Ingredients for an Equitable Recovery
Online
- Hosted by: Metropolitan Planning Council
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Sep 15, 2020
Tuesday
- #BuildBackBetter
Virtual Event
- Hosted by: Metropolitan Planning Council
Speaker & Honoree: John W. Rogers, Jr., Chairman, Co-CEO & Chief Investment Officer, Ariel Investments LLC
Moderator: Melody Spann Cooper, Chairman of Midway Broadcasting Corporation
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Sep 19, 2019
Thursday
- Making Positive Change
Hilton Chicago
Speaker: Raj Chetty, the William A. Ackman Professor of Economics at Harvard University and Director of Opportunity Insights
Honoree: John W. Rowe, Champion Fighter Award
Burnham Award Winner: Austin Coming Together
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Sep 12, 2018
Wednesday
- The Creativity Factor: How Art and Culture Impact Communities
Hilton Chicago
Speaker: Lonnie G. Bunch III, Founding Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Moderator: Joy Bivins, Chief Curator of the International African American Museum
Honoree: Patrick G. Ryan, Champion Fighter Award
Burnham Award Winner: Space to Grow
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Sep 22, 2017
Friday
- Creating A Winning City: The Team. The Town. The Region.
Hilton Chicago
Speaker: Tom Ricketts, Executive Chairman of the Chicago Cubs
Moderator: Natalie Moore, WBEZ’s South Side Reporter
Honoree: John A. Canning, Jr., Champion Fighter Award
Burnham Award Winner: Friends of the Cal-Sag Trail and the Cal-Sag Coalition for their plan and implementation of the Cal-Sag Trail
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Jan 9, 2017
Monday
- Challenging Inequality, Driving Growth: The Economic Implications of Segregation
Sheraton Grand Hotel
Speakers: Darren Walker, President of Ford Foundation, and Julia Stasch, President of MacArthur Foundation
Honoree: Chairman King Harris, Champion Fighter Award
Burnham Award Winner: The Pullman Community
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Jun 3, 2015
Wednesday
- Investing in Chicago's Future
Regency Ballroom, Hyatt Regency Chicago
Speakers: JB Pritzker
Honoree: Miles D. White, Champion Fighter Award
Burnham Award Winner: City of Chicago, Trust for Public Land, Chicago Park District and Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail—The 606
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Aug 28, 2014
Thursday
- Pat Quinn & Bruce Rauner answer
Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park
Speakers: Illinois Governor Candidates Gov. Pat Quinn and Bruce Rauner
Honoree: W. James Farrell, Champion Fighter Award
Burnham Award Winner: City of Chicago, Trust for Public Land, Chicago Park District and Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail—The 606
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Nov 1, 2013
Friday
- Accelerating Change
Hyatt Regency Chicago
Speaker: Margo Georgiadis, President, Americas, Google
Honoree: Andrew J. McKenna, Champion Fighter Award
Burnham Award Winner: City of Chicago’s Dept. of Cultural Affairs and Special Events for the Chicago Cultural Plan
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Jul 25, 2012
Wednesday
- The Cities That Work
Hyatt Regency Chicago
Speakers: Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett
Honoree: Frank Clark, Jean Allard Regional Trailblazer Award
Burnham Award Winner: Chicago Metropolitan Agency for its GO TO 2040 regional plan
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Jun 27, 2011
Monday
- What, Where and How? Rethinking the Retail Landscape
Hyatt Regency Chicago
Speaker: Tom Mars, Executive VP and CAO, Walmart U.S
Moderator: Jesse Ruiz, Vice Chair of MPC’s Board of Governors
Burnham Award Winner: Magellan Development for their Lakeshore East master plan
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Jun 21, 2010
Monday
- Illinois: Is there a cure?
Hyatt Regency Chicago
Speakers: Illinois’ U.S. Senate Candidates Alexi Giannoulias, Mark Kirk, & LeAlan Jones
Moderator: Lynn Sweet, Chicago Sun-Times Washington Bureau Chief
Burnham Award Winner: Whistler Crossing, Riverdale, Ill.