Gregory W. Jones, AICP
Partner
Chicago Office
140 S. Dearborn Street, 6th Floor
Chicago, IL 60603
Direct Phone: 312.604.9195
Fax: 312.782.0943
Email: gjones@ancelglink.com
B.A., University of Illinois (2004)
Greg has dedicated his career to revitalizing communities and driving positive economic growth.
His land use and zoning advice has helped municipalities, developers, and entrepreneurs accomplish their economic development goals. Greg advises clients in a wide variety of transactional matters, including annexation and development agreements, tax increment financing (TIF), public-private partnerships, renewable energy, data centers and emerging technologies, zoning code rewrites, and complex real estate deals.
Greg currently serves as Village Attorney for Worth, Kenilworth, and Millington, provides general counsel services to Glenview, Oswego, Glen Ellyn, Lake Forest, and South Elgin, and supports the firm’s other local government clients. Greg’s prior experience as a city planner, project manager, and zoning administrator allows him to work efficiently and effectively with those who make – or break – economic development efforts. Greg is the co-chair of the American Planning Association – Illinois Chapter’s Legislative Committee, is an active member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, and trains elected and appointed officials across Illinois as a member of the American Planning Association’s Public Official Training Faculty.
Greg earned his B.A. in Urban Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and studied town and country planning at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom. Greg graduated magna cum laude from Chicago-Kent College of Law, where he served as a law review editor and was elected into the Order of the Coif.
Highlights of his legal practice include:
Advised city councils, plan commissions and a host of other elected and appointed boards and commissions.
Negotiated complex, multi-million dollar redevelopment agreements on behalf of public and private sector clients.
Spearheaded public participation and outreach campaigns to create new zoning districts that reflect the residents’ vision for their community.
Presentations
How to Use Social Media to Get Noticed – and Not Sued (American Planning Association Annual Illinois State Section Conference 2022)
Planning Law Holiday Special (American Planning Association Annual Illinois Conference 2021)
Bar Exam: Land Use Caselaw Update (American Planning Association Chicago Metro Section 2021)
Property Brothers: Parks Edition (Illinois Association of Park Districts Annual Conference 2021)
Where the Sidewalk Ends: Managing Sidewalk and Pothole Liability (Illinois Local Government Lawyers Association 2020)
Are you up to speed on zoning cases? (Intergovernmental Risk Management Agency Educational Summit 2020)
Tools for Effective Virtual Meetings (Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning 2020)
After 30 years, it’s time to comply with the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (American Planning Association Annual Illinois Conference 2019)
Zoning Approval? How To Take Your Park Project Through The Process (Illinois Association of Park Districts Annual Conference 2019)
Battling Billboard Bullies: Strategies for Controlling Outdoor Advertising (Illinois Municipal League Annual Conference 2018)
Excellent Planning Law Adventure! (American Planning Association Annual Illinois Conference 2018)
The First Amendment and Social Media (Illinois Association of Park Districts Annual Conference 2018)
Quorum Forum Podcast (various episodes)
Lawyers, Guns, and Money: How to Stay Out of Ethical Jams (Chicago Metro Section, American Planning Association 2017)
Ghostlawyers: Haunted Planning Law Update (American Planning Association Annual Illinois Conference 2017)
Citizen Planner Training and Mock Hearing (American Planning Association Annual Illinois Conference 2017)
The Legal Side of Employee Social Media (Illinois Government Finance Officers Association Annual Conference 2017)
The Sharing Economy and Social Media (North Central Illinois Council of Governments 2017)
Legal Decision Making for Planning Commissioners (American Planning Association Video Series 2017)
Park District Use of Social Media (Illinois Association of Park District Annual Conference 2017)
The Real Houselawyers of Planning (American Planning Association Annual Illinois Conference 2016)
Citizen Planner Training Workshop (Champaign County Regional Planning Commission 2016)
Bar Exam (American Planning Association Chicago Metro Section 2016)
Background Checks, and EEOC Guidance, and Credit Reports – – Oh My! (Illinois Association of Park Districts Annual Conference 2016)
FUN!(with ethics)(American Planning Association State Conference 2016)
Leveraging Development Agreements Between Municipalities and Private Parties (Strafford Publications, Inc. 2015)
Freedom Isn’t Free: How to Navigate FOIA Without Losing Your Sanity (American Planning Association State Conference 2015)
Law & Order: Zoning Victims Unit (American Planning Association Annual Illinois Conference 2015)
Publications
2021 Illinois Municipal Handbook, Illinois Municipal League
“Zoning,” Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education (IICLE) (2021)
“Virtual Zoning Hearings in the COVID-19 Era,” Illinois City / County Management Association (Jun. 2020)
2018 Illinois Municipal Handbook, Illinois Municipal League
“It’s 10pm, Do You Know Where Your Plan Commissioners Are?” The Commissioner (American Planning Association) (Dec. 2017)
“Zoning,” Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education (IICLE) (May 2016)
“Land Use Law: Zoning in the 21st Century,” Law Journal Press (Jan. 2015)
“Lifeguard on Duty? Safety Basics for Public Swimming Pools,” Illinois Parks Association Risk Services (Jun. 2015)
2014 Illinois Municipal Handbook, Illinois Municipal League
“Net Gain: Pitfalls to Avoid When Bringing Paddle Tennis to a Community,” Parks & Rec. Business (Aug. 2014)
“Regulating Outdoor Fitness Classes: A Practical Guide for Managing the Fitness Craze,” Illinois Parks Association Risk Services, (Mar. 2014)
“Does the Public Zoning Process in Illinois Inhibit Economic Development? Lessons Learned from Navistar’s Move to Lisle,” DuPage County B. Assoc. Brief (Jan. 2011)
“Free Speech & Tainted Justice: Restoring the Public’s Confidence in the Judiciary in the Wake of Republican Party of Minnesota v. White,” 85 CHI-Kent L. Rev. 441 (2010)
Contributor to In The Zone, the firm’s land use e-bulletin
Co-editor of Ancel Glink Today, the firm’s e-bulletin
Awards/Professional Recognitions/Memberships
American Institute of Certified Planners
American Planning Association
Engaging Local Government Leaders
Member of Order of the Coif
Hobbies
Greg enjoys coaching his daughter’s soccer team, the Purple Mermaids, playing catch with his son (preferably nowhere near windows or any other form of breakable glass), and terrorizing his entire family with “useless” ‘80s rock trivia.