Judy Frydland served as the Commissioner of Buildings for the City of Chicago from June 2015 to June 2020. The Department of Buildings is a 295‐person department with an annual budget of $37 million. The Department enhances safety and quality of life for residents and visitors of the City of Chicago through permitting, inspections, trade licensing, and enforcement of the Chicago Building Code.
Upon Ms. Frydland’s appointment in 2015, the Department implemented multiple reforms that streamlined the permit process for all building projects, from single-family home renovations to large-scale developments, making it quicker and more efficient to obtain a permit than ever before. Starting in 2017 the Building Department began issuing a record number of permits, 48,406, and in 2019 the Building Department issued a record breaking 48,846 permits. Under her leadership, the Department modernized city code to align with national and international standards, while maintaining parts of the existing code that are adapted to Chicago’s environment and urban density. In 2017 Chicago became one of the first major cities to align with the National Electrical Code. In 2019 the city adopted the first full rewrite of the Chicago Building Code in 70 years, making Chicago one of the first major jurisdictions in the U.S. to align with the 2018 International Building Code.
Ms. Frydland’s career has been devoted to the renovation and re-use of existing buildings. She made sure to align the building code rewrite with the International Existing Building Code, as recommended by the Urban Land Institute in 2017 to encourage reuse of older, smaller buildings in neighborhoods struggling to attract investment. This rewrite replaced the antiquated one-size-fits-all rehab provisions with tailored requirements for projects ranging from small repairs to complex adaptive reuse projects.
She enforced public safety through over 300,000 inspections per year including residential units in response to complaints, annual elevator, restaurant, and business inspections as well as inspections for newly constructed buildings, streamlining the process through new technologies and practices. Ms. Frydland also implemented emergency heat restoration practices working with the Department of Law, the Department of Housing and the Cook County Circuit Court during the 2019 Chicago Polar Vortex that continues on.
Prior to joining the Department of Buildings, Ms. Frydland spent 25 years in the Chicago Law Department working with various city departments, community groups and other stakeholders on the enforcement of building code, municipal health, and business license regulations. In her role as Deputy Corporation Counsel for Building and Licensing Enforcement, Ms. Frydland enforced the city’s vacant building ordinance and implemented strategies aimed to preserve the city’s housing stock, closed down and revoked licenses for problem businesses engaging in criminal activity, actively preserved occupied residential buildings through circuit court litigation and city programs, prosecuted illegal signs and dangerous and hazardous rooftop water tanks, as well as enforced the Life Safety Evaluation (LSE) requirements for pre-1975 high-rise buildings.
Ms. Frydland was the recipient of the 2018 “Labor Person of the Year” award from IBEW Local 134, 2018 “Building Industry Woman of the Year in Construction” award from the Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago, 2019 “Outstanding Community Partner Award” from the Community Investment Corporation, “Mark Satter Visionary Award” from the Cook County Land Bank, 2019 “Code Official of the Year” award from the International Code Council and 2019 "Community Service Award" from Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago. Ms. Frydland is an active member of Lambda Alpha International, an honorary land economics society, and its Ely Chapter.
Ms. Frydland graduated from I.I.T. Chicago Kent College of Law, was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1990 and is a current member of the Chicago Bar Association. Ms. Frydland earned her law degree while working as a social worker and assistant administrator in a nursing home. Ms. Frydland also has a Master’s Degree in Community Health Care Planning and Administration.
The Honorable Governor J.B. Pritzker appointed Ms. Frydland to the Illinois Medical District Commission in January 2021. Ms. Frydland is thrilled to volunteer in this public service role bringing her healthcare and real estate experiences together to benefit Illinoisans. She will bring her enthusiasm and ideas forward to address health care disparities and challenges, especially in these most challenging times.
In 2021 Ms. Frydland participated in a panel discussion in West Palm Beach Florida hosted by the International Code Council, Building Owners and Managers Association International, and the National Institute of Building Sciences. In the wake of the tragic Surfside, Florida building collapse the panel discussion centered on the current process for building inspections, including current guidelines for frequency and how they are performed as well as necessary recommendations. Ms. Frydland worked with the International Code Council to enhance Existing security Building Standards in Florida and for use in multiple jurisdictions throughout the country.
Currently, Ms. Frydland is an attorney in private practice focusing on government compliance which includes legal representation and strategies for optimal results navigating regulatory environments.