Daniel L. Goodwin

REALTOR® and Inland Real Estate Chairman Daniel L. Goodwin received the first-ever Illinois REALTORS® Lifetime Achievement Award Monday night during a special ceremony at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield.

“Throughout its more than 100 years of existence, Illinois REALTORS® has never had an award for Lifetime Achievement but that changes tonight,” said President Doug Carpenter as the association kicked off its annual Capitol Conference & REALTOR® Lobby Day. “The award is given for an ongoing – relentless – impressive body of work on behalf of the industry and those who rely on it.”

“I am proud to be a REALTOR® in Illinois tonight,” said Goodwin.

He thanked leaders of Illinois REALTORS® for the recognition, and he urged elected officials to listen to the concerns of his colleagues. Contrary to popular opinion, he says elected officials he has worked with have been very honest, hard working men and women. He urged REALTORS® to thank elected officials for their efforts, which include long hours and little financial rewards.

The featured guests included Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner,  House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno, House Republican Leader Jim Durkin and former House Speaker Lee Daniels.

A former teacher in Chicago Public Schools, Goodwin helped found Inland Real Estate and grow the Oak Brook-based company into what it is today. He’s chairman of the New Directions Housing Corporation (Lombard), a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax exempt charitable corporation that has built and rehabilitated almost 400 multifamily housing units so low income individuals could afford safe, decent and sanitary housing. New Directions has also worked with other groups to provide food, after-school care for children, immunizations and more to the people it serves. Watch a video about Goodwin and his career.

Goodwin was chairman of Northeastern Illinois University’s board and was vice chairman at Benedictine University. In 2015, he received the Good Neighbor Award from REALTOR® Magazine.

He’s a member of the National Association of REALTORS® RPAC Investors Hall of Fame, the NAR President’s Circle, the Illinois REALTORS® Hall of Fame and the Chicago Association of REALTORS® Hall of Fame. He is the founder of Retail Properties of America REIT and is chairman of the National Association of Real Estate Trusts Non-traded REIT Council. He is a director of the Chicago Better Government Association.