PERSON: Nancy Rotering

City of Highland Park, Illinois

Mayor, Public Official, Attorney

As the first woman elected mayor in Highland Park, Illinois, Nancy Rotering reformed city government and built a culture of transparency, collaboration, and ethics. An attorney for over 30 years, Nancy is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, has an MBA from Northwestern University and a BA from Stanford University in economics. She practiced law with McDermott Will & Emery in Chicago, focusing on health care fraud and abuse before being elected Mayor of Highland Park three times.

In 2015, Nancy founded the North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic, providing free legal services and equal access to justice for northeastern Illinois residents navigating housing, immigration, and domestic violence matters. In 2014, Today’s Chicago Woman named Nancy to their “100 Women of Inspiration,” and Forbes included her in their “Forty Over 40” list. In 2022, she received the Lake County, Illinois Harriet Tubman Award, the Lake County Democratic Women Resist Award, the Blue Crescent Outreach Foundation Social Action Sapphire Award, and the New Trier Democrats Defender of Democracy Award. She was proud to be recognized as the 2022 Outstanding Instructor by Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy.

Nancy is an Executive Committee member of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, is a member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, is a Board of Directors member of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, and is the immediate Past President of the Northwest Municipal Conference.

Nancy and her husband Rob have four sons and live in Highland Park, Illinois.

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