Donna J. Pugh is a partner at Foley & Lardner LLP where she focuses on obtaining land use and zoning entitlements on behalf of her retail, health care and corporate clients. With her approach of bridging the gap between client, civic and municipal needs, Ms. Pugh has an exceptionally high success rate of securing necessary approvals for land development projects in the Chicago area.
A consensus builder, Ms. Pugh works to unite property owners, elected officials and community groups to achieve approvals that maximize flexibility of future land use and benefit all involved stakeholders. A member of the firm’s Real Estate Practice and Health Care Industry Team, she was selected for inclusion in the 2005, 2006 and 2008-2013 Illinois Super Lawyers® lists. She has also been selected for the list of Leading Lawyers in the area of land use, zoning & condemnation law from 2003-2010 and the 2011-2013 editions of The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of land use and zoning law. In 2012, she was recognized by the Legal 500 for her work in real estate. In recognition of her experience, Ms. Pugh has been Peer Review Rated as AV® Preeminent™, the highest performance rating in Martindale-Hubbell's peer review rating system.*
Ms. Pugh has extensive experience in securing planned developments, special uses, rezonings, variations, text amendments and other land use approvals for the following project types:
- Retail – including regional shopping malls, grocery-anchored community centers, and retail banks
- Health care – including hospitals, physician office buildings, outpatient treatment centers, and senior living facilities
- Mixed-use development – including projects containing office, hotel, retail, condos, and senior housing
- Public way – including securing approvals for private use of skybridges, tunnels, canopies, signs and others
Ms. Pugh has worked on high-profile land development projects, such as obtaining zoning approvals for the 960,000-square-foot United Center, home to Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks. She obtained approvals for alterations to Water Tower Place to accommodate American Girl, a new flagship retail/restaurant facility. She also obtained all zoning approvals for the original redevelopment (1994) and subsequent redevelopments of the 1.6 million square foot legacy mall Westfield Old Orchard in Skokie, IL.
Geographically, Ms. Pugh focuses her land use practice in Chicago, Cook County, DuPage County, and Will County.
Published Works:
- Co-author, "Beware the Public Way," Real Property, the newsletter of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Section on Real Estate Law, Vol. 55, No. 2 (October 2009)
- Co-author, "Hot Topics in Land Use Law: An Analysis of Facility Siting Issues Under Section 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996," American Bar Association (2000)
Leadership Positions:
- International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), member; Illinois State Committee, member; and Illinois Government Relations Committee, chair (as of May 2012)
- American Bar Association Section of State and Local Government Law, past chair (2009-2010, 9,000 members); past chair, Land Use Committee
- Greater North Michigan Avenue Association (GNMAA), secretary; past co-chair, GNMAA Planning & Advocacy Division
- Resurrection Development Foundation, board member
Speaking Engagements:
- “Zoning & Development Law Update,” Local Government Law Institute, Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, June 6, 2012, Chicago, IL
- “Parking Trends: Alternative Financing and Enhancing the Bottom Line,” Foley & Lardner LLP (April 2012)
- “Property Lines, Private Property Rights and the First Amendment,” Security Council of Professional Educators (SCOPE), Chicago (April 2012)
- “Understanding Property Rights, Property Lines and the First Amendment,” Chicago NATO Summit Host Committee Meeting, co-sponsored by BOMA Chicago and Greater North Michigan Avenue Association (GNMAA) (March 2012)
- “Cross-Selling: Connecting the Dots,” Foley & Lardner LLP (March 2012)
- “Strategic Networking for 2012 Success,” Foley & Lardner LLP (January 2012)
- “Green Initiatives in Shopping Centers,” Foley & Lardner (September 2011)
- “Urban Farming,” Foley & Lardner (June 2011)
- "Lean Project Delivery: Construction Techniques that Save Time & Money," Foley & Lardner (February 2011)
Ms. Pugh maintains an on-going commitment to pro bono legal services by actively donating time to charitable, educational and not-for-profit organizations. Representative matters are listed below:
- Breakthrough
- BUILD
- Grace & Peace Community Church
Ms. Pugh received a J.D. from Loyola University of Chicago in 1983 and a B.A. degree from the University of Florida (Gainesville) in 1979, where she majored in political science and minored in environmental studies.
* The Illinois Supreme Court does not recognize certifications of specialties in the practice of law and no award or recognition is a requirement to practice law in Illinois.