The Daniel H. Burnham Award is presented annually by the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce to a business leader who best embodies the Burnham philosophy of "make no little plans."

Today's Chicagoans enjoy a city planned by a man of great vision. In his forward to the 1904 report, "Planning the Region of Chicago" Burnham wrote, "Chicago is not only the city that was and is, but a city that has yet to be."

This year's Burnham Award recipient is John A. Canning, Jr., Chairman of Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC. which specializes in management buyout and special equity investing. MDP manages over $18 billion of committed capital and portfolio investments.

Prior to founding MDP in 1993, Mr. Canning spent 24 years with First Chicago Corporation, most recently as Executive Vice President of The First National Bank of Chicago and President of First Chicago Venture Capital.

He currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Exelon Corporation, Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, TransUnion Corp., and Children's Inner City Educational Fund. He also serves on the Boards of Trustees of the Big Shoulders Fund, Museum of Science and Industry, and Northwestern University.

Mr. Canning is also a Commissioner of the Irish Pension Reserve Fund, a Trustee and Chairman of The Chicago Community Trust, a Trustee and Chairman of The Field Museum, and a Director and Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Mr. Canning has an A.B. from Denison University and a J.D. from Duke University.