Serving developers and property owners in the Chicago metro area and northern Illinois, Bernie Citron advises clients in an array of land use and municipal law issues. He assists individuals and organizations involved in building and renovating facilities across industries, including residential development, retail, e-commerce, healthcare, agriculture, and hotel and restaurant hospitality.
Providing representation in issues related to planned developments, annexations and zoning changes, Bernie helps clients in complex mixed-use, community development and affordable housing transactions that incorporate funding sources based on economic incentives. These include local, state and federal subsidies such as historic preservation programs, tax increment financing and tax abatements. Bernie also shepherds developers through multifaceted deals related to large projects, including warehouse distribution centers and mixed-use facilities.
With deep and diverse experience with municipalities and their legal matters, Bernie counsels clients on managing interactions with the towns and cities where their projects are located. In addition to spending 15 years advising on a wide range of issues as an lawyer for a Chicago suburb, he practiced in the City of Chicago’s Corporation Counsel’s Office, where he handled land use, zoning, real estate, building code enforcement and other municipal law issues. This experience and his previous career as an architect both inform and enhance his current practice.
experience
- Representing a medium size developer in a number of mixed use residential and commercial projects in Northern Illinois.
- Continuing to represent a south suburban developer in small mixed use residential and commercial developments.
- Representing an international company in obtaining approval of a 4 million plus square foot warehouse including approval of a mid-100-million-dollar Tax Increment Financing provision.
- Approval of a rehabilitation of a 4 million square foot industrial project in western Illinois including a significant Tax Increment Financing Component.
Professional
- Illinois State Bar Association
- Chicago Bar Association
Community
- Bernie shares his vast knowledge as a lecturer on Land Use Law and Development at institutions including the University of Illinois at Chicago, DePaul University and Illinois Institute of Technology. Previously he taught the subject as an adjunct professor at the John Marshall School of Law.
Co-panelist, “The Push for Affordable Housing”
Bisnow Multifamily Annual Conference Midwest, June 15, 2023
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America (by BL Rankings), 2011-2024
- Listed in Illinois Super Lawyers (by Thomson Reuters), 2013-2016
I’m interested in and serious about art. I play electric bass in various blues ensembles in Chicago, enjoy photography and woodworking (including making furniture and guitars), and I like to travel.