Illinois REALTORS® is overseen by a leadership team of a 28-member Board of Directors, which includes four officers: the president, president-elect, treasurer and immediate past president. Each member is elected to serve a three-year term.
Officers
Co-founder and owner
Weinberg Choi Residential at Keller Williams ONEChicago
Chicago
Tommy Choi
Choi, AHWD, C2EX, began his real estate career in 2007. He is a member of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® (CAR) and has served as its president in 2019, the first Korean-American to lead the local association. In 2020, he was named CAR’s REALTOR® of the Year.
At the state level, Choi has served multiple terms on the Illinois REALTORS® Board of Directors and chaired the association’s Finance Committee and Strategic Planning Committee. He is a 2014 graduate of the Illinois REALTORS® Leadership Development Program.
Choi is a longtime contributor to the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC) and in 2020 was inducted into the RPAC Hall of Fame for an aggregate lifetime investment of at least $25,000. He has been a State Legislative Contact and is currently the Federal Political Coordinator for U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley of the 5th District.
He has been actively involved at the national level, serving multiple terms on the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Board of Directors and graduating from NAR’s Leadership Academy in 2018. In 2019, he chaired NAR’s Young Professionals Network Advisory Board and in 2021, he was chosen to serve as the Vice President of Association Affairs for NAR. In 2024, he will serve as chair of the RPAC Participation Council.
Crain’s Chicago Business named Choi to its “40 Under 40” class of 2020. Crain’s annual list recognizes business and industry leaders making an impact in Chicago.
Choi earned a bachelor’s degree from Bradley University in Peoria. He lives on the North Side of Chicago with his wife, Tesha; their three daughters, Henly, Mosely and Mayer, and dogs Macy and Koda.
President
RE/MAX Traders Unlimited
Peoria
Jeff Kolbus
REALTOR® Jeff Kolbus, of Edwards, is the 2025 President-elect of Illinois REALTORS®. He is president of RE/MAX Traders Unlimited in Peoria.
Kolbus, AHWD, C2EX, ePro, GRI, SRS, began his real estate career in 1994. He is a member of the Peoria Area Association of REALTORS® (PAAR) and served as its president in 2002.
Kolbus has served on multiple Illinois REALTOR® committees and has chaired the Public Policy Forum, REALTORS® Political Action Committee, RPAC Trustees, Business Issues-License Law Working Group and Technology Working Group. He’s served multiple terms on the Illinois REALTORS® Board of Directors and in 2014 graduated from the Illinois REALTORS® Leadership Development Program.
Kolbus is a longtime contributor to the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC) and will be inducted into the RPAC Hall of Fame for 2023 with an aggregate lifetime investment of at least $25,000. He is the State Legislative Contact for Sen. Win Stoller of Germantown Hills, 37th District, and at the national level, serves on the National Association of REALTORS® FPC Advisory Committee.
Kolbus has been active in his local community, serving in volunteer and leadership roles with the Home Builders Association of Greater Peoria, Downtown Development Corporation of Peoria, St. Francis Medical Center Foundation, Children’s Hospital of Illinois Community Advisory Board and St. Vincent de Paul Parish. He is a past commissioner for the city of Peoria’s Planning Commission, Zoning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals.
Kolbus earned a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University. He lives in Peoria with his wife, Wendy, a third generation REALTOR® in the Peoria area. They are the parents of two adult sons, Michael and Nicholas.
Homer Glen
Debbie Prodehl
REALTOR® Debbie Prodehl, of Homer Glen, is the 2025 Treasurer of Illinois REALTORS®. She is a broker-owner and the director of risk management for Coldwell Banker Real Estate Group in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Prodehl, AHWD, C2EX, has been working in her family’s business since 1991, assisting buyers and sellers during her first 15 years, and serving in leadership roles during the last 18. She oversees compliance for her company as director of risk management, and she works daily with her management team, training, mentoring and guiding their agents. Her home office is located in Shorewood.
She is a past president and was the 2016 REALTOR® of the Year for the Three Rivers Association of REALTORS®. She is in her sixth year serving on the Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS® Board of Directors.
At the state level, Prodehl chaired the Illinois General Assembly and Statewide Independent Expenditures Committee in 2023 and 2024, as well as the Business Issues/License Law Forum Committee in 2016 and 2017. She has served on other state committees, including six years on the Illinois REALTORS® Board of Directors.
She is a longtime contributor to the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC) and in 2019 was inducted into the RPAC Hall of Fame. In 2017, she was named a Presidential Medallion recipient and she graduated from the Illinois REALTORS® Leadership Development Program in 2017.
She has served on the National Association of REALTORS® Board of Directors for nine years, currently chairs the NAR Regulatory Issues Forum and has served on NAR’s Federal Technology Policy Committee and Broker Involvement Council.
Prodehl is a member of the Women’s Council of REALTORS®, the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals and Coldwell Banker’s “What Moves Her.”
Partner and senior broker
Corcoran Urban Real Estate
Chicago
Matt Silver
Silver, AHWD, C2EX, CRS, ePRO, GRI, began his real estate career in 1998. He is a member of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® (CAR) and has served on its Board of Directors, ultimately serving as the 133rd president of CAR. He was named CAR’s 2018 REALTOR® of the Year and received the 2022 Brian A. Bernardoni Political Advocacy Award and 2013 REALTOR® Achievement Award.
At the state level, Silver serves on the Illinois REALTORS® Board of Directors and has chaired the REALTORS® Political Involvement Working Group, Education Working Group, Professional Standards Committee, Ethics Citation Panel, Finance Committee and Grievance Committee. He is the Federal Political Coordinator for U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider of the 10th District and has been a State Legislative Contact. He served on the Real Estate Educational Foundation (REEF) Board of Directors and in 2015 was REEF president. He has led the REALTORS® Institute Working Group and was a dean of the Graduate, REALTOR® Institute (GRI).
In 2022, Silver was awarded Illinois REALTORS®’ Political Involvement Award. He is a long-time supporter of the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC) and was inducted into the 2022 RPAC Hall of Fame. He is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Board of Directors and in 2021, chaired NAR’s Federal Legislative and Political Forum. He currently serves as the Region 7 Representative on the RPAC Trustees Fundraising Committee.
In his community, Silver serves on the Board of Directors for the True Value Boys & Girls Clubs in the Little Village neighborhood and is an ambassador for All Chicago: Making homelessness history, a local organization with a mission to end homelessness. Silver also serves on Pi Kappa Phi’s National Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.
Silver earned a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University. He lives in Chicago with his son, Grant, who is a graduate of Indiana University Kelley School of Business with a Bachelor of Science in Business.
Board Members
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