| Jun 2010 | Awarded the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award. |
| Jun 2010 | Honored by the American Diabetes Association as a "Father of the Year." |
| Jun 2010 | Received the Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from DePaul University and presented the keynote address at the 2010 Commencement Ceremony of the College of Commerce. |
| May 2010 | Presented Keynote Address at the TMA 2010 Windy City Summit: "A Wealth of Information worth talking about." |
| Apr 2010 | Keynote speaker at the Chicago Headline Club's 33rd Annual Peter Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Journalism Dinner. |
| Mar 2010 | Received the 2010 Barristers Philanthropic Award from Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth. |
| Feb 2010 | Speaker at St. Xavier University's 2010 Breakfast with Experts series. |
| Dec 2009 | Named a "Game Changer" by Michigan Avenue Magazine for rescuing the Sun-Times from collapse. |
| Nov 2009 | Participated in the WBBM Annual Economic Forecast Breakfast. |
| Nov 2009 | Participated as the moderator at the TMA Annual Conference Executive Discussion featuring President George W. Bush. |
| Nov 2009 | Honored at the 2009 La Rabida Awards Benefit for his "Corporate Involvement." |
| Nov 2009 | Awarded the 2009 Bridge Advocate Award from Chicago United. |
| Oct 2009 | Speaker at the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) Conference. Jim discussed why he was involved with the City Colleges of Chicago and the value it serves the college and the community. |
| Sep 2009 | Named "Man of the Month" in Today's Chicago Woman's Magazine. |
| Jun 2009 | Joined the American Cancer Society's CEOs Against Cancer program. |
| Apr 2009 | Keynote speaker at Illinois State University's College of Business during "Business Week 2009." The topic was "An Illinois State Focus Taken in Many Directions." The audience for this annual event is geared mostly towards ISU students, but also includes faculty, staff, and advisory council members as well as members of the business community. |
| Jan 2009 | Speaker at DePaul University's MBA Program "Storytellers Series." The Storytellers Series brings together Chicago working professionals, students, DePaul alumni and friends for career discussion and professional networking. Speakers share information about career paths, industry trends, specific companies and professional development. |
| Dec 2008 | Named among the "100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics 2008" in the "Thought Leadership" category by Ethisphere Magazine. |
| May 2008 | Speaker at The First Friday Club of Chicago. The topic of his talk was "Money Makes the World Go Round - Commerce Drives Everything - One Person's Perspective on Balancing the Priorities of Work, Home and the Community." |
| Jan 2008 | Awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by The Association for Corporate Growth Chicago (ACG Chicago.) |
| Jun 2007 | Elected as Chairman of Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. |
| Jun 2007 | Awarded the 2007 Ray Hartstein Trustee Achievement Award from ICCTA. |
| May 2007 | Named honorary chair for the Donate for Life Campaign. |
| May 2007 | Awarded the Jane Addam's Hull House Legacy Award. |
| May 2007 | Awarded the Donald F. Steiner Award from The University of Chicago. |
| May 2007 | Received the Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Illinois. |
| Oct 2006 | Participated in Innovate! Now, the first annual regional innovation summit for business in the multi-state commerce center surrounding Chicago. |
| Jun 2006 | Elected as Chairman of The Executives' Club of Chicago. |
| Feb 2006 | Awarded the 2006 Tolle Lege Community Service Award at the St. Rita of Cascia High School Valentine Dinner Dance. |
| Oct 2005 | Participated as a speaker at the TMA Annual Conference general session "Evolution of the Large Turnaround Firm." |
| May 2005 | Awarded the Spirit of Erikson Institute Award. |
| Apr 2005 | Awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award by Illinois State University. |
| Feb 2005 | Awarded the Mary Potter Humanitarian Award by the Little Company of Mary Hospital. |
| 2004 | Elected as Chairman of JDRF's One Billion Dollar Campaign to accelerate a cure for diabetes. |
| Dec 2004 | Awarded the 2004 Richard J. Daley Medal by the Illinois Venture Capital Association. |
| Nov 2004 | Highly instrumental in bringing closure to the strike between City Colleges of Chicago and the Cook County College Teachers Union Local 1600. |
| Jun 2004 | Honored as JDRF's Person of the Year. |
| May 2004 | Awarded the Youth Advocacy Award by the Uhlich Children's Advantage Network. |
| 2003 | Accepted the Children's Place Association "Chicago Champion for Children" award on behalf of Mesirow Financial. |
| Oct 2003 | Inducted into Illinois State University's College of Business Alumni Hall of Fame. |
| Mar 2003 | Participated as a speaker in The Executives Club of Chicago's high-tech conference. |
| Jun 2001 | Awarded "The Make A Difference Award" by The Russell Maryland Foundation for his support and dedication to Children. |
| May 2001 | Awarded the Americanism Award by the Anti-Defamation League. |
| 2000 | Awarded the E. Burton Service Award by Illinois State University. |
| 2000 | Appointed by Mayor Daley as Chairman of City Colleges of Chicago. |
| 1998-99 | Served as President of the IL Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. |
| 1998 | Honored at Marist High School's Laetare Dinner. |
| Jun 1998 | Awarded the Civic Leadership Award by the American Jewish Committee. |
| 1992 | Recognized as one of Crain's "40 Under Forty." |
| Member of Loyola University's Chicago Family Business Center Advisory Board. | |
| Principal for a Day in the Chicago Public Schools for '98, '99 & '02. | |
| Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Gala Chair for "The Chance of a Lifetime Gala" in '97, '98, '00 & '01. |