William Brandt Jr. was an expert in corporate restructuring and bankruptcy who served as chair of the Illinois Finance Authority, which provides low-cost financing to public and private institutions in an effort to drive economic development and create jobs.
After graduating from Fenwick, Brandt received a bachelor’s degree in sociology from St. Louis University in 1971 and a master’s degree in sociology from the University of Chicago in 1972. In 1976, Brandt formed Development Specialists Inc., a corporate restructuring consultancy that eventually had offices around the country. Brandt pushed for improvements to federal bankruptcy laws while also endeavoring to save as many jobs as possible at the bankrupt companies for which his firm consulted.
Brandt focused on pre-bankruptcy turnaround work rather than bankruptcy liquidations. In the case of Maine-based audio and videocassette-maker Shape Inc., one of the largest Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases in New England, the Tribune reported in 1997 that Brandt had returned 100% of creditors’ money to them plus interest“What we’re about is getting people’s money back, the bank’s money, creditors’ money, everybody’s money,” he told the Tribune in 1997.In 2008, then-Gov.
Among his most important achievements was helping to rescue Roseland Community Hospital, the beleaguered Far South Side safety-net hospital, in 2013, Quinn said.“I did not want that hospital to go away, as they had hired 500 people, and there were lots of jobs there and it helped the community a great deal,” Quinn said. “I called Bill and I said, ‘Work this out,’ and he came up with a plan that rescued Roseland Hospital.