Brian Hamer

Brian Hamer is an attorney who has spent his career in government and public service.

He served 12 years as Director of the Illinois Department of Revenue, making him the longest serving revenue director in Illinois history. During his tenure, he worked to promote tax fairness and improve customer service. Before joining state government, he headed the Tax Division of the Chicago Department of Law and then served as First Deputy Director of the Chicago Department of Revenue. He currently is counsel to the Multistate Tax Commission, an organization based in Washington, D.C. that works with state revenue departments and their counsel to facilitate the fair administration of business tax laws. He also authors an occasional column titled “Revenue Matters,” for the periodical, Tax Notes State. Brian attended Yale University and Columbia Law School where he served as an editor of the Columbia Law Review.

The idea of Jewish free loans resonates with him in part because his paternal grandfather headed the Indianapolis Hebrew Credit Union, an association which supported many first and second generation Americans seeking to start businesses while supporting their families. His maternal grandfather arrived in Chicago more than 110 years ago, where he and Brian’s grandmother started a small business with the help of family and community.

Brian and his wife, Madelynn, live in the city of Chicago, where they raised their now grown children — all of whom embrace Jewish values and tradition. Brian has served on the Human Services Commission of the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Chicago and currently is a member of his synagogue’s budget committee.