James C. Tyree (October 30, 1957 – March 16, 2011) was a Chicago financier who was chairman and chief executive officer of

Mesirow Financial Mesirow is a financial services company based in Chicago, Illinois. The firm is employee-owned and 100% of voting shares are held by employees. It provides investment management, capital markets, wealth management and investment banking services. ...

since 1994. In 2009, he led a team of investors that took control of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' newspaper, which he owned until his death.

Early life and education

Tyree grew up in the Beverly neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. He graduated from Marist High School in 1975. Tyree earned his bachelor's and MBA degrees from

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

in 1978 and 1980, respectively.Jim Tyree , Mesirow Financial , Chairman and CEO

Professional career

In 1980, Tyree joined

fresh out of business school as a research analyst.Baron in the Making
/ref> In 1990, he became the firm's president, and in 1994, he became the firm's chairman and chief executive officer. From 1990 until his death, Tyree oversaw 50 acquisitions by Mesirow.

Bid for the Sun-Times

In September 2009, Tyree and a group of investors he was leading placed a $5 million bid, which was accepted to purchase the

newspaper and its bankrupt company,

Sun-Times Media Group Sun-Times Media Group (formerly Hollinger International) is a Chicago-based newspaper publisher. History Sun-Times Media Group was founded in 1986 under the name ''American Publishing Company'', as a holding company for Hollinger Inc.'s Ameri ...

Inc. As part of their offer, Tyree and his group also had agreed to assume $20 million in liabilities.

Personal

Tyree married his second wife, Eve, in 1996, after a first marriage had ended in divorce. Eve had been Mesirow's chief financial officer. They own a mansion on Chicago's

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

and a lakefront summer house in

Long Beach, Indiana Long Beach is a town in Michigan Township, LaPorte County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Long Beach was 1,179. It is included in the Michigan City, Indiana- La Porte, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. Hi ...

. They also have children, a daughter and two sons: Jessica, Joseph and Matthew. Tyree had type 1 diabetes. On October 20, 2010, his diagnosis with

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...

was revealed. On March 16, 2011, Tyree died of unexplained complications."James Tyree Dies", ''Chicago Tribune'' (March 17, 2011)
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyree, James C. 1957 births 2011 deaths Businesspeople from Chicago Illinois State University alumni Deaths from stomach cancer Deaths from cancer in Illinois Chicago Sun-Times people American male journalists 20th-century American businesspeople