Report: Civic Federation President Laurence Msall dies at age 60

CHICAGO — Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, has died, according to a statement from the organization.

The Civic Federation said Msall died surrounded by family Saturday after complications from a surgery, calling his death one that was sudden and unexpected.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot dedicated a tweet to Msall after learning he had died Saturday.

“I am deeply saddened and devastated to learn that Laurence Msall, President of the Civic Federation, has passed away,” reads Lightfoot’s tweet. “Laurence loved Chicago dearly, and was a fierce defender of good policy for both the City and the rest of our state.”

For the past 21 years, Msall served as president of the Civic Federation, a non-partisan government research organization that works to “maximize the quality and cost-effectiveness of government services in the Chicago region and state of Illinois,” according to their website.

Before joining the Civic Federation, Msall served as the Senior Advisor of Economic Development for Illinois under then-governor George H. Ryan, providing oversight of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, Revenue, Transportation and the Illinois Housing Authority, among others.

Msall — who was a licensed attorney and a 1992 graduate of the Loyola University School of Law — also served as Vice President of the Commercial Club of Chicago and Assistant to the Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs.

At the time of his death, Msall was a member of the Board of Directors at the Woods Fund of Chicago, as well as the Chicago Civic Consulting Alliance, the Cook County Health Nominating Committee and the Kennedy Forum of Illinois. He also served on the Advisory Board of the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs and NPR’s ‘Illinois Issues.’

Visitation for Msall will be held Tuesday, Feb. 7 at Salerno’s Galewood Chapel in Chicago. The family requests that if Chicagoans want to offer well-wishes in honor of Msall, they make a charitable donation to L’Arche Chicago, a non-profit organization who provides services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities that Msall often volunteered and partnered with.