Chicago REAL Professionals welcomed Damian Eallonardo, senior vice president of operations, for W.E. O’Neil Construction, a national award-winning family of construction companies, both employee and family owned. Mr. Eallonardo shared a “state of the market from a construction guys perspective.” He reviewed national data on construction starts and revenue as compared to Chicago. His takeaway, “nationally, we are still seeing some reasonable growth. We are closer to the end of the economic expansion, than the beginning, but there is still some expansion.” However, the Chicago market is trending flat in terms of revenue and opportunities. He reviewed economic forces driving the construction market in Chicago, including change in civic leadership, affordable housing mandate, aldermanic privilege and TIF’s. Nationally, the main driving forces are the geopolitical climate, tax relief and tariffs. The local outlook: Chicago is a mixed bag. Although Chicago is an attractive location with an emergence of opportunity zones, the rising cost basis and challenges with speed to market continue to have a negative impact on the process.