While Daley praised Berg as "an excellent leader," former first deputy commissioner Lori Healey had been rumored to be his top choice for running the department charged with promoting economic development in the city's neighborhoods. However, Healey reportedly declined the $125,000-a-year post, opting to stay with the architectural firm she joined in 2000.
However, developers and city hall insiders say Daley may have chosen the best person to maneuver projects through the delicate maze of often competing city hall and community interests. "She has a good grasp of the issues involved, is a good communicator and works things through to reach a consensus," said Chief Operating Officer Michael Pepper of Loop-based Fifield Co.
As deputy commissioner, Berg has been responsible for overseeing planning in one of seven planning districts, but arguably the city's most important one. Bounded by Lake Michigan, North Avenue, Halsted Street and the Stevenson Expressway, Berg's six-square-mile district includes the Loop, River North, Streeterville, Near West and Near South neighborhoods.While 85,000 residents – including Daley - and another 75,000 students live there, Berg's Central Area houses companies employing 600,000 as well as 22,000 hotel rooms.
The Central Area also includes the McCormick Place convention center as well as tourist attractions including Grant Park, Navy Pier, Chinatown, Greektown and Michigan Avenue. There also are redevelopment challenges in Block 37 in the Loop and the Cabrini Green housing project, which is being redeveloped into middle-income housing.
Part of Berg's job as coordinator for the Central Area included dealing with residents and neighborhood groups. She scored well enough in that area to win Daley's praise, saying Berg "has worked closely with neighborhood groups as well as the business community, and she understands how to attract and retain the businesses that create jobs for Chicagoans." Pepper underscored that, telling GlobeSt.com, "I'm sure she wouldn't have gotten the job if she wasn't able to straddle all of the city and community interests." Evidence of those skills were seen in Berg's shepherding plans to preserve Medinah Temple, which are now going before the city council.
Before overseeing the Central Area, Berg was involved in projects aimed at preserving elements of Chicago's history. She managed the conversion of the historic Chicago Bee Building in the South Side Bronzeville neighborhood into a branch of the Chicago Public Library as well as streetscaping projects along the city's boulevards, which wind through and connect several parks.
Daley credited Hill's aggressive use of tax incremental financing to redevelop neighborhoods not only with large projects, but also providing money so homeowners can make exterior improvements. While Hill is a native Chicagoan and graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Berg was born in Nashville, TN, and earned degrees from Tufts University and University of Wisconsin.
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