News and Real Estate Updates

…concerning my career, life, and involvement with Chicago…
From watching my father loyally serve as a Policeman on Chicago’s Southside for 35 years, to working all over town with clients, developers, and the Mayor’s office, I love this City!
Supporting my passions, namely Chicago Culture, Real Estate, and Politics, has me running Fundraising for the Joffrey Ballet’s annual Spring Gala, educating new brokers and consistently winning Real Estate industry honors and sales awards, and I worked on the 2008 Presidential campaign. Other important causes include Chicago Schools, Children’s Hospital, Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Center, PAWS, and the House Theater.
Please enjoy browsing the four Topics below, reflecting my Real Estate business and my involvement on important Cultural and Social projects.

Melinda's Newsletters

Important Real Estate Updates

Major Sales List

Melinda's Chicago Life

October 17, 2009 – Article – A Professor of Architecture at Maryland University wrote a wonderful article complimenting Chicago’s striking architecture. He brings up several of our beloved landmarks and affirms Chicago’s prominence on an international level. Here is the link to his article in the Washington Post: Chicago Gets Gold Medal for Design - washingtonpost.com

October 1, 2009 – Article – I am serving on the Chicago Association of Realtor’s CAR) Government Affairs committee. I attended a CAR dinner and the speaker brought up some great points that more realtors should try and follow:

Jim Loewenberg
Co-CEO of Magellan Development Group
…the four basic rules have guided me:
First, no project works out exactly as it was planned. Be creative and work through issues with an open mind…
Second, don’t fight the market. You can never win. The market is bigger and stronger than you will ever be.
Third, don’t ever put yourself in a position where you have to make a deal. Too many times we find ourselves in a position of having to "make the deal." It is at that time you should step back and say to yourself, "Is this what I really want to do?"
Lastly, surviving is more important than winning. Sometimes you have to take your hits so that you can come back again in the future.

September 28, 2009 – News – Coldwell Banker has released a pioneering application for iPhones, providing helpful home-buying data to the user at the touch of a button. Just another example that the biggest real estate company can also be the most innovative!

September 16, 2009 – Event – I attended Coldwell Banker’s President’s Club in Lake Geneva, WI. Besides having a little time off it was a great place to learn about CB’s very successful FACEBOOK page and to learn more about CB’s efforts to reach out to clients and utilize technology to its fullest. In the second picture please note that we actually worked for a while!

September 10, 2009 – Event – I attended the grand opening luncheon for the fabulous Tiffany Gardens in Milennium Park. The event was a benefit for the Parkways Foundation and was sponsored by Van Cleef & Arpels. Here I am with my good friend Shirley Michaels:

August 2009 – Advertisement – I try to be innovative and make my advertising both informative and fun! The following ad is running in Chicago Social Magazine, a popular monthly in Chicago that attracts lots of interest from both buyers and sellers of real estate.

4/25/2009 – News Article – The following Chicago Sun Times article highlighted the Joffrey Gala:

4/24/2009 - Event and Photo - I attended the Joffrey Ballet Spring Gala. Co-chaired by Sandy Dromedi and Mary Jo Basler and Jay Franke, it was a huge success. I was honored to serve as the Fundraising Chairman and am happy to report our goal was achieved through the extensive efforts of the Co-chairs and the Women's Board. These pictures are from an exciting Chicago blog called CandidCandace produced by my friend Candace Jordan.

From Left: Co-Chairs Sandy Deromedi, Jay Franke, Mary Jo Basler

The Exelon Strobel Step Up dancers, an outreach program supported by the Joffrey

2/28/2009 – Pictures - My ??th birthday was celebrated recently. Here are photos of me and some of the wonderful people who celebrated with me:

From Left: Michael O'Meara, Pierre Desy, Margaret O'Connor, Mary Jo Basler, Jan Melk, Michel Desjardin and Melinda Jakovich

From Left: Susan Bronstein, Michel Desjardin, Jan Melk, Mary Jo Basler, Michael O?Meara, Melinda Jakovich, Margaret O?Connor

1/21/2009 – Article - Melinda was interviewed in two different articles by Crains Chicago Business at the Obama Inauguration.
Click to view 1st article Click to view 2nd article

1/20/2009 – Photo - Melinda with Maggie Daley at the Home States Ball at the Obama Inauguration in a photograph from Crain's Chicago Business Inauguration Gallery:

From Left: M.K. Pritzker, Maggie Daley, Melinda Jakovich and Jan Melk at the Home States Ball

12/3/2008 – Video - Melinda's hosted a walk-through at one of her East Lake Shore Drive listings that was broadcast as a 2 ½ minute segment on NBC's "Open House" program. Click to see the video.