OUR TEAM

VICTOR REYES

With nearly 30 years of experience in government, law, and public affairs, Victor Reyes draws upon a wide range of contacts and experiences to help clients achieve their goals. Business owners and leaders from around the country rely on his counsel to find a clear path through Illinois’ complex regulatory system, and he is repeatedly selected as an Illinois Leading Lawyer in the areas of governmental, municipal, lobbying, and administrative law. Victor began his career as an assistant to former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, ultimately rising to the position of Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, where he was responsible for implementing the mayor’s agenda in the city council, state legislature, and Congress. After a 10-year career in the public sector, Victor left the mayor’s office to lead the Chicago Government Practice of the international law firm, Greenberg Traurig.

After accumulating experience in both the public and private sectors, Victor established the Reyes Bonoma law firm, now Reyes Kurson, and The Roosevelt Group lobbying firm. Adding to his entrepreneurial ventures, Victor became a founding partner of Compass Public Affairs in 2010. Victor earned his B.A. from Loyola University Chicago and his J.D. from DePaul University.

A native of Mexico, Victor spends his free time with his wife and three children.

Joseph Clary

Joseph Clary serves as Senior Counsel for Reyes Kurson and The Roosevelt Group, with primary focus on public finance, complex legislation, and municipal operations.

He is an accomplished attorney and advocate with deep experience in a host of other legal and legislative matters, including complex contracts, public pension reform, public investments, civil rights, administrative proceedings, constitutional law, employment, and collective bargaining. He draws on 30 years of public service.

This experience includes eight years of service with Cook County, where he served as Legal Counsel for the Finance Bureau and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs. During and following his tenure with the County, he developed, drafted, and won support for a number of complex legislative and financial initiatives, including Cook County’s successful pension reform legislation.

His experience also includes working as Chief Counsel and Parliamentarian for the Illinois Senate President. In this capacity, he took the lead in developing, drafting, and securing passage of scores of bills that reformed complex systems, including those associated with public-transit finance/operations, eminent domain, public pensions, and school funding.

As the Director of Public Transit and Railroads for the Illinois Department of Transportation, he helped capture billions of state and federal dollars for transit, railroads, intermodal projects, and CREATE.

As Executive Director and General Counsel for the Illinois Coalition to End Homeless, he wrote the landmark Illinois Education for Homeless Children Act, and led the winning statewide campaign for its enactment. He then worked with national advocates to rewrite the McKinney-Vento Act, securing comparable rights for homeless students across the nation.

Prior to joining Reyes Kurson, he served as Deputy General Counsel and Title IX/Nondiscrimination Attorney for Waukegan Public Schools, spearheading a number of initiatives that enhanced the district’s fiscal, operational, and inter-governmental standing. For instance, he developed and led the winning campaign to reform the school funding statute to hold school districts financially harmless from COVID enrollment declines.

Madeline Norris

Madeline Norris’s significant corporate, campaign, and government experience informs her Springfield lobbying and legislative consulting practice. In her role as Executive Director of the Illinois Beverage Association, Madeline is a leader in driving consensus, building coalition, and advocacy around environmental and economic policy.

Skilled in policy analysis, negotiation, relationship management, and legislative process strategy, Madeline previously served as Legislative Director for Illinois House Majority Leader Robyn Gabel. Madeline led all policy development, issue advocacy, and constituent case management and outreach activities for Gabel’s office.

Madeline spent the early part of her career at a Fortune 5 healthcare corporation where she managed a team of 13 operations professionals. In her role, Madeline fostered unity and cohesion amongst the team and served as the liaison to the wider corporation. Her varied perspectives and broad knowledge base, along with extensive experience working with a highly diverse range of people, afford her a uniquely effective approach to executing client goals.