Alderman Brian Hopkins

Hon. Brian Hopkins

2^nd ward Alderman Brian Hopkins was first elected to Chicago’s City Council in May 2015 and was re-elected in February 2019 after running unopposed. 

Prior to being elected into office, Hopkins worked in the Cook County Commissioners office, where he served as Chief of Staff to the Finance Committee Chairman John P. Daley, under the tenure of President Toni Preckwinkle.

Along with his job at the County, Hopkins was twice voted President of the respected community group, the Streeterville Organization of Active Residents (SOAR). At the helm of SOAR, Hopkins represented the community and solved complex issues to improve the quality of life for local residents.

A champion of environmental, sustainability and resiliency initiatives, Hopkins served on Lakeshore Planning Committee, a group of civic leaders advocating a bold plan to add more green space and public parkland to Chicago's Lakefront.  

Today, Alderman Hopkins continues his work to deliver open, green and recreational space for Chicagoans, and fights to protect constituents from health risks associated with environmental contamination at former industrial sites.

Representing a diverse ward that includes neighborhoods spanning from Streeterville and the Gold Coast, to Lincoln Park, Bucktown and Ukrainian Village, Alderman Hopkins has shepherded some of Chicago’s most important and impactful projects to completion. 

In 2017, Alderman Hopkins conducted a public review process and secured unanimous community support for One Chicago Square, a high-rise mixed-use development in the Gold Coast generating over $50 million in annual city tax revenues and over 1,400 new, full-time jobs.

In 2018, after almost two years of public meetings and negotiation, Hopkins delivered Lincoln Yards, a project that will create over 24,000 citywide jobs, new infrastructure grids, 22 acres of parks and green space, and the most affordable housing ever created on-site from a Chicago development.

Along with major economic development projects, Alderman Hopkins has introduced and delivered some of the Council’s most forward-thinking legislation, including Chicago’s first mural art registry, condo-privacy protections, and collaborative policing strategies between CPD and private and institutional security.

Alderman Hopkins earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois-Springfield (Sangamon State). He is an avid Blackhawks fan who enjoys spending time with friends, and enjoying all that Chicago has to offer with his wife, Colleen, and son, Ryan.