Jim Reilly, a downstate Illinois lawmaker who became chief of staff to two governors and headed agencies that oversaw mass transit in the Chicago area, state construction projects and the operations of McCormick Place and Navy Pier, has died at 77.
He died of pneumonia Monday at the St. Joseph Village assisted living facility in Chicago, where he had been recovering from a fall, according to Steve Schlickman, a friend who was executive director of the Regional Transportation Agency during Mr. Reilly’s 2005-2010 tenure as chairman of the RTA board.
