CHICAGOBUSINESS.COM I AUGUST 28, 2023
Even auctions can’t always sell mansions
He could sell the team, relocate it or work out a deal for a new field, probably with public money
The latest example is an opulent Barrington Hills property that was featured in the show ‘Empire’
By Steve Daniels
At age 87, Jerry Reinsdorf has owned the Chicago White Sox longer than anyone — even team founder Charles Comiskey. His long tenure spans milestones such as the team’s first World Series championship in 88 years and the move to its first new stadium since 1910. But it’s his next move that likely will define his legacy.
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Reinsdorf’s legacy tied to next Sox move DAN McGRATH: Stadium not near top on list of Sox’s woes. PAGE 2 Jerry Reinsdorf
News that the South Side franchise is mulling leaving Guaranteed Rate Field, which Reinsdorf got built with public money in the early 1990s after threatening to move the team to Florida, gives the Chicago sports mogul multiple options for securing the team’s future — and the
fortunes of his family and limited partners. If past is prologue, the wallets of Reinsdorf and his family and investors will come first on the priority list. But how he achieves See REINSDORF on Page 34
By Dennis Rodkin
In May, when a lavish Barrington Hills mansion that appeared on the television show “Empire” had sat on the market unsold for a decade, a Floridabased auction company took on the task of selling it. At auction, the baronial property, whose asking price had slipped from $15.3 million in June 2013 to $9.5 million in May
2023, would find the price the market is willing to pay. On its website, Elite Auctions described the property as an “extraordinary, elegant testament to opulence and refinement” that was being offered “without reserve.” In auction language, that means the house would be sold at the top bidder’s price, no matter how low. See AUCTION on Page 35
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The new mayor’s administration has major challenges to tackle: A migrant crisis, crime and revitalizing the Loop and Magnificent Mile I PAGE 13 FIND THE COMPLETE SERIES ONLINE
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GREG HINZ The CTA is still suffering from COVID’s effects but is making some progress toward normalcy. PAGE 2
INSURANCE Allstate discovers a novel way to reduce its agents’ pay for the policies they sell. PAGE 6