Bill Silverstein receives Jewish Federation’s highest honor

Bill Silverstein, long a leader in Chicago's Jewish community, has received the 56th annual Julius Rosenwald Memorial Award, the highest honor given by the Jewish Federation of Chicago.

The award, presented each year at the Federation's Annual Meeting, goes to an individual who has demonstrated a lifetime of outstanding dedication and service to the Federation and the entire Jewish community. It is named for Julius Rosenwald, the iconic Chicago business leader and philanthropist who also helped build the Federation in the early 1900s.

To mark the honor, the Silverstein family announced an unprecedented $100,000 gift that will be shared equally by every non-profit group that had a staff representative at the Sept. 17 Annual Meeting.

Silverstein, a real estate developer and philanthropist, has an extensive record of leadership both within and beyond Chicago's Jewish community. He chaired the Jewish United Fund/Federation Board from 2014 to 2016, the JUF Annual Campaign in 2011, and has served in many other roles, including as Chair of JUF’s Overall Planning and Allocations Committee. Since 2017, he has chaired JUF's Jewish Community Relations Council.

In 2006, he received the Federation's Davis, Gidwitz & Glasser Young Leadership Award.

Silverstein has been to Israel more than 50 times and has joined missions to more than 20 countries to explore Jewish life and attend to critical Jewish needs. Here in Chicago, he has been a foundational supporter of the award-winning, transformative Silverstein Base Hillel since its inception.

In the broader community, Silverstein is a Trustee of the Museum of Contemporary Art and a Board Member of the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital. He also has long served on the board of Solomon Schechter Day School, which both he and his children attended.

Silverstein and his wife, Karyn, live in Highland Park with their three children.