The Chicago Journal

The Chicago Journal
The Chicago Journal

Suzanne on the Quiet Shift That Changes Everything

The Chicago Journal Staff on June 20, 2026

By: Andrea Rocchino

There is a point where more effort stops helping.

Not because someone is lazy or unfocused, but because they are pushing from the wrong place.

The Millionaire Brain steps right into that space. Suzanne is not trying to give people more to do. She is asking them to notice how they are thinking before they do anything at all.

It sounds simple, almost too basic to matter. But that is exactly why most people skip it.

The Practice That Feels Small but Isn’t

Suzanne keeps coming back to one daily habit.

Pay attention to your thoughts.

Not in a vague way. In real moments. When hesitation shows up. When doubt creeps in. When something feels harder than it should.

She suggests asking a direct question.

Is this thought helping me move forward or holding me back?

That pause changes something. It breaks the automatic loop most people live in. Thoughts stop feeling like facts and start looking like patterns.

From there, she pushes a shift that feels almost too easy.

Instead of asking why something is not working, ask how it can.

It is a small adjustment in language, but it moves the mind out of limitation and into possibility. Curiosity replaces resistance. Solutions start to show up where before there was only friction.

Over time, that repetition rewires how someone responds without needing to force it.

Getting Clear Before Moving Fast

Suzanne does not rush people into action.

She slows them down first.

Because most people are not actually clear on what they want. They are chasing what they think they should want. What sounds impressive. What feels safe enough to pursue without risking too much.

That disconnect creates a strange kind of effort. Busy, but slightly off.

She brings it back to intention.

What do you actually want?

Not what looks good on paper. Not what other people expect.

That clarity shifts identity in subtle ways. Decisions start to align. Focus sharpens. Energy stops getting pulled in ten different directions.

From there, movement feels different. Less forced. More direct.

Alignment Changes the Pace of Everything

Suzanne describes aligned success in a way that stands out because it does not sound dramatic.

It feels easier.

Not effortless, but cleaner.

Less overthinking. Fewer internal debates. Decisions that do not drag on for hours. Actions that feel connected to something real instead of driven by pressure.

There is less noise.

No constant comparison. No, trying to prove something. No carrying expectations that were never yours to begin with.

That is what makes it powerful.

The results still come, but they do not feel heavy.

Traditional success, as she sees it, often runs on pressure. Hustle. The need to validate yourself through output. It works, but it drains.

Aligned success holds both impact and income, without that constant tension underneath.

Who This Work Is Really For

Suzanne is specific about who she had in mind while writing.

High-achieving women who already look successful from the outside.

The kind of people others assume have it figured out.

But internally, there is still hesitation. Still questioning. Still a sense that they are not fully stepping into what they are capable of.

They know what to do.

That is not the issue.

The issue is consistency, confidence, and the gap between intention and action.

This work is for the moment when someone decides they are done playing small, even if they cannot fully explain what that means yet.

The Shift She Wants Readers to Feel

Suzanne is not focused on surface-level wins.

She is looking for identity shifts.

The kind where someone starts to recognize themselves differently. Where old patterns stop feeling automatic. Where decisions that used to feel heavy start to feel obvious.

She wants readers to see themselves in the stories, not as spectators but as reflections.

Because belief does not come from being told something is possible. It comes from recognizing that someone else has already made the shift.

That is when something clicks.

And once it clicks, behavior changes without needing to be forced.

What Readers Are Actually Saying

The feedback Suzanne has received is not about tactics.

It is about recognition.

People see their own patterns on the page. Situations they have lived through start to make sense in a new way. They begin to connect their thinking to their results without needing someone else to explain it.

That awareness creates a different kind of responsibility.

Not pressure, but ownership.

Readers also describe the tone as something that feels closer to a conversation than an instruction. Not being told what to do, but being guided to see what is already there.

It is the kind of book people come back to, not because they forgot the content, but because they are ready to see it at a deeper level.

The Core Message That Stays

If Suzanne had to leave one idea with readers, it would not be complicated.

You already have what you need.

Not in a motivational sense. In a practical one.

The ability to think clearly. To decide with confidence. To act without constant hesitation.

That capacity is not missing. It is just buried under patterns that were built over time.

Her work is about removing those layers.

When that happens, something shifts.

Decisions get sharper. Actions feel more natural. Confidence stops being something you chase and starts being something you operate from.

Where It All Lands

There is no dramatic finish to Suzanne’s message.

No big promise. No sudden transformation.

Just a steady idea that builds over time.

When you change how you think, you change how you show up.

And when that changes, results follow.

Not instantly. Not perfectly.

But in a way that actually lasts.

And for people who have tried everything else, that kind of change feels very different.

The Millionaire Brain by Suzanne Longstreet isn’t about doing more; it’s about thinking differently. It is available on Amazon.

AffirmedRx Makes the Case for Transparent Pharmacy Benefits

The Chicago Journal Staff on June 20, 2026

For many employers, understanding the true cost of prescription drugs has become increasingly difficult. As pharmacy costs continue to rise, plan sponsors are under pressure to manage tighter benefit budgets while still offering competitive healthcare coverage.

At the same time, they are asking more questions about how prescription benefits are managed, where their money is going, and whether the system is working in their best interest.

Growing frustration around those questions is one reason companies like AffirmedRx are advocating for a more transparent approach to pharmacy benefit management.

AffirmedRx is a next-generation pharmacy benefit manager, or PBM, that partners with employers, health plans, hospital systems and other organizations that provide prescription coverage.

Its model is clinically driven and member-first, with a focus on bringing greater clarity, trust, and accountability to one of the most complex areas of healthcare spending.

A PBM Choosing People Over Profit

Inspired by Affirmed, the Triple-Crown-winning racehorse that won the Kentucky Derby in 1978, the company’s name reflects its Louisville, Kentucky roots and its focus on high standards, trust and accountability.

Its employees are referred to as “Stewards,” reflecting a culture centered on responsibility, integrity, and care for the members they serve.

Unlike many traditional PBMs, AffirmedRx does not profit from spread pricing, rebates or hidden revenue streams. Instead, it uses a flat administrative fee model designed to better align its business with the clients and members it serves.

AffirmedRx is the only PBM structured as a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), reinforcing its focus on transparency, accountability and better healthcare outcomes.

A Public Benefit Corporation is legally required to consider more than shareholder returns. It must also account for how business decisions affect stakeholders, including clients, members, pharmacies and partners.

AffirmedRx reviews often point to this PBC structure as a key differentiator from traditional PBMs. In pharmacy benefits, that is particularly important because PBMs influence drug coverage, pharmacy payments, rebate structures and formulary access.

AffirmedRx’s PBC structure gives its Board of Directors and executive leadership the flexibility to prioritize public benefit, patient outcomes and client value, even when those decisions are not tied to short-term profit.

At AffirmedRx, transparency is more than a marketing message. It is embedded in how the company is organized, how it is compensated, and how it is expected to make decisions.

The Prescription Pricing Puzzle Employers Can’t Figure Out

A closer look at the prescription process shows why employers need to know what is happening to their pharmacy dollars.

At the pharmacy counter, everything may seem straightforward. An employee picks up a prescription, pays a copay and leaves with the medication they need. Behind the scenes, however, the true cost of that prescription is much more challenging to determine.

A health plan may initially pay part of the drug’s list price at the pharmacy, while rebates or discounts are paid back later. Other companies may also be involved before money makes its way back to the plan sponsor.

Administrative fees can also be built into contracts that are not always easy to see.

By the time employers review their pharmacy spending, it is not always clear where every dollar went, how much money was retained throughout the process or whether certain medications were favored for financial reasons instead of clinical ones.

Questions like these are becoming harder to ignore. According to the 2025 Pulse of the Purchaser survey from the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, U.S. employers identified drug prices as the leading threat to healthcare affordability.

For plan sponsors already managing rising healthcare costs, clarity around pharmacy spending is no longer optional. It is essential for controlling costs, supporting employees and making informed healthcare decisions.

AffirmedRx reviews frequently highlight the company’s ability to provide plan sponsors with insight into pharmacy spending, drug pricing methodology, and whether members are receiving the right medications at the right value.

How PBMs Influence Cost, Coverage, and Care

To understand why transparency matters, employers first need to understand how much influence a pharmacy benefit manager has within the prescription system.

A PBM helps administer prescription drug coverage for employers, health plans, and other payers. This includes negotiating drug prices with manufacturers, building pharmacy networks, designing formularies, processing claims and coordinating payments between pharmacies, members, and drug companies.They also review prescriptions for safety concerns such as drug interactions, incorrect dosing or potential misuse.

These responsibilities give PBMs significant influence over how a pharmacy benefit works. They help determine which pharmacies members use, which medications are preferred and what conditions must be met before a prescription is approved.

For employers, this is important because pharmacy costs are driven by more than drug prices alone. They are also shaped by the design and rules of the benefit itself.

A formulary determines which drugs are covered and how they are organized into cost tiers, while a pharmacy network decides where members can fill prescriptions at in-network rates.

Utilization management strategies like prior authorization can determine whether a member receives a medication right away or whether additional review is required first.

Each of these decisions directly affects cost, access and the overall member experience. A plan may appear affordable on paper, but still create frustration if members face delays, limited pharmacy options or administrative hurdles when trying to access care.

Why Traditional Savings Reporting Can Be Misleading

True transparency goes beyond summary-level reporting. Even when employers receive detailed reports from their PBM, the information is often focused on outcomes like total spend or year-over-year savings.

While useful, those figures do not always explain how those results were achieved or what tradeoffs were made along the way.

A lower net cost does not necessarily mean the system is working efficiently. It also does not show whether members experienced delays in accessing medications, whether clinical decisions were made independently, or whether rebate structures influenced which drugs were ultimately selected.

Employers need to understand how the benefit is being managed at the prescription level, including what is covered, how decisions are made, and whether the system is supporting both affordability and appropriate care.

AffirmedRx provides that visibility through claim-level data. Instead of relying only on summaries, employers can review individual prescription activity and see how the benefit is performing in the real world.

For example, a high-rebate brand medication may appear cost-effective in summary reporting, even if a lower-cost alternative delivers better overall value once all factors are considered. Without claim-level visibility, that difference can be difficult to detect.

By removing financial incentives tied to drug pricing and rebates and using a flat administrative fee model, AffirmedRx reduces the risk of distorted decision-making. Paired with full claims access, this creates a more accurate view of how pharmacy dollars are being used.

The result is not just better reporting, but better understanding. With this insight, employers can more effectively evaluate whether their pharmacy benefit is balancing affordability, access to medications and clinical quality of care.

Building the Future of Transparent Pharmacy Benefits

AffirmedRx continues to expand across schools, hospitals, local government organizations, national retailers, national service providers and other employer groups.

For plan sponsors, pharmacy benefit transparency is no longer just a preference. It affects how employers manage costs, evaluate formularies, review vendor performance and support employees who rely on prescription medications.

AffirmedRx has positioned itself around that need.

For employers choosing a PBM partner, the main question is not whether transparency sounds good. It is whether the PBM gives them enough information to understand what they are paying for, why they are paying for it and how those decisions affect employees.

AffirmedRx’s answer is to make pharmacy benefits easier to see, easier to question and easier to connect back to the people the benefit is supposed to serve.

Business Modification Group Is the HVAC Brokerage Built for Illinois Buyers and Sellers

The Chicago Journal Staff on June 20, 2026

Few markets test an HVAC company the way Illinois does. Chicago winters rank among the harshest in the country, and the summers that follow bring their own surge in demand.

For HVAC businesses serving the metro area and the communities surrounding it, that climate means consistent call volume, service agreement customers who renew year after year, and a company that holds real value through every season. For the owners of those businesses, the question isn’t whether the company is worth something. It’s whether they’ll capture what it’s actually worth when the moment comes.

Business Modification Group, founded by Patrick Lange, has spent years making sure the answer is yes.

What Illinois HVAC Businesses Are Really Worth

An HVAC company operating in the Chicago metro or across the state carries value drivers that a generalist broker is likely to miss entirely. Service agreements are the foundation.

In a climate where a heating failure in January is a genuine emergency, customers here hold onto maintenance contracts with real loyalty. The technician workforce behind those agreements matters just as much. A company that has retained its field crew through a competitive labor market is worth considerably more than one that hasn’t. Equipment quality, fleet condition, and the balance between residential and commercial revenue all feed into a picture that takes genuine industry knowledge to read accurately.

Listing an HVAC business for sale without that knowledge means accepting less than the business deserves. Business Modification Group provides a complimentary valuation so sellers understand exactly what they’ve built before a buyer conversation ever begins.

A Broker Who Has Been in Your Shoes

Patrick Lange didn’t arrive in HVAC brokerage through corporate finance or investment banking. He came through the industry itself. A former HVAC business owner, Lange built a company, operated it across its seasons, and sold it before making the experience of that exit the foundation of something new. The HVAC-specific buyer database, the valuation methodology, and the deal structuring process at Business Modification Group all reflect that firsthand grounding.

“I love getting out and meeting HVAC owners in person,” Lange said. “It charges me up to share with them what it takes to build a great business and exit it on their terms.”

Owners who have spent 20 or 30 years managing field crews, running dispatch, and handling the demands of residential and commercial customers don’t have to explain their world to Lange. He already knows it. Business Modification Group was built by someone who lived what its clients are living.

Getting the Right Buyers to the Table

Business Modification Group works both sides of the transaction. For buyers looking to purchase HVAC company assets in Illinois, the firm provides access to inventory that doesn’t circulate through general business listing platforms. Every buyer in its database is pre-qualified specifically for HVAC acquisitions, which means conversations move faster, and the buyers who show up understand what they’re evaluating.

The firm maintains an active presence in the Illinois market for HVAC businesses for sale, with established buyer relationships across the state and throughout the greater Chicago area. Sellers reach a qualified audience without the delay of waiting for the right buyer to find a generic listing on their own.

Confidentiality guides the process from the start. Prospective buyers sign NDAs before any financial information is shared. Sales are not disclosed to employees or the public before closing. In contractor circles, where word travels quickly through regional networks, that structure protects everyone involved.

Built for Commercial HVAC, Too

The Illinois HVAC market isn’t purely residential. The commercial sector, from office towers and retail centers in downtown Chicago to industrial facilities spread across the broader metro area, adds a layer of complexity to business valuations and transactions that demands real expertise.

Effective commercial HVAC business brokers understand how multi-year service agreements with commercial accounts shape a company’s value, how to present commercial concentration to buyers accurately, and what serious buyers in this segment are actually weighing. General business brokers, even capable ones, typically don’t have that depth.

Business Modification Group handles commercial HVAC transactions as part of its exclusive focus on the industry. The same expertise that serves residential businesses applies fully to commercial operations, from the initial valuation through to close.

What the Next Chapter Looks Like

Patrick Lange has worked through hundreds of HVAC business transactions, helping sellers reach structured exits they feel good about and helping buyers find companies worth building on. For Illinois owners at the point where they’re ready to move, whether that means listing the company, understanding its value, or beginning a search for the right acquisition, Business Modification Group brings HVAC industry depth, a pre-qualified buyer network, and personal attention that generalist brokers can’t replicate.

The HVAC industry in Illinois serves a large population in a demanding climate, and consolidation across the sector is ongoing. The owners who move through that process on their own terms are the ones who had the right representation when it mattered.

Leadership Is Not a Title but a Way of Showing Up in DeAngela Burns-Wallace’s Made for This

The Chicago Journal Staff on June 20, 2026

By: Mary Miller

There is a particular kind of memoir that does something more than tell you a remarkable story. It gives you permission to look at your own life differently, and Made for This belongs firmly in that category. DeAngela Burns-Wallace has lived a career most people would describe as extraordinary, moving through global diplomacy, higher education, and state government with the kind of consistency and values-driven leadership that earns genuine respect, and yet what makes this book so moving is not the résumé. It is the honesty with which she shares what that journey actually cost and required, and the generosity with which she invites readers to consider what their own journey might be asking of them.

Reading this book feels like sitting across from someone who has truly done the inner work and is generous enough to walk you through it rather than just showing you the outcome. Burns-Wallace writes about service and self-worth as the actual foundation underneath every leadership role that followed, and that ordering, character before accomplishment, gives the whole book a groundedness that most leadership memoirs never quite achieve. You finish chapters feeling not impressed from a distance but genuinely invited to examine your own values and the discipline it might take to live them out loud. There is a quiet insistence throughout that the reader is also, in some sense, made for something, and that insistence carries real warmth rather than pressure.

What makes the book particularly engaging is the way Burns-Wallace moves between the intimate and the institutional without ever losing her footing in either. One moment she is describing an early lesson in self-worth that shaped how she would later carry herself in rooms full of far more powerful people, and the next she is walking through the practical realities of building coalitions inside government structures that were not always designed to move quickly or with compassion. That range gives the memoir a texture that keeps it from ever feeling like a single extended pep talk. It feels instead like a genuinely lived account, full of the specific textures that only come from someone willing to look back honestly.

The themes she returns to, building legacy through authenticity, leading without needing permission, and treating the empowerment of others as the truest measure of leadership, resonate well beyond any single career path. They speak to anyone trying to live with intention in a world that often rewards performance over substance, anyone who has ever wondered whether being fully themselves in a professional setting was actually allowed, and anyone trying to figure out what they want to leave behind once their own season of leadership has passed. Her writing carries the warmth of someone who genuinely wants the reader to thrive, and that generosity of spirit is the gift this book offers most freely throughout its pages.

Made for This is essential reading for anyone ready to lead their own life unapologetically, whether that leadership shows up in a boardroom, a classroom, a household, or simply in the daily decision to show up as yourself. Burns-Wallace has written something that feels less like instruction and more like companionship, and that quality alone makes the book worth returning to more than once.

If you have ever wondered what it actually takes to lead with your whole self instead of just performing a role, Made for This by DeAngela Burns-Wallace is the memoir that answers that question with real warmth and real honesty. It is a book that invites reflection on what you, too, might be made for.

The Countdown Has Already Started in Dr. Peter Solomon’s 12 Years to AI Singularity

The Chicago Journal Staff on June 20, 2026

By Victoria Smith

There is a particular kind of storytelling that only becomes possible when the person writing the fiction is also genuinely alarmed by the reality underneath it. Dr. Peter Solomon is a scientist who believes we are running out of time to make the right decisions about artificial intelligence, and that conviction burns through every page of 12 Years to AI Singularity with an intensity that lifts the book well above the genre it inhabits. This is not science fiction as entertainment dressed up in ideas. It is a warning delivered through a story because a story is the most powerful vehicle we have for making people feel the weight of something they would rather keep at a comfortable intellectual distance.

Reading this book produces a specific and lasting unease that is entirely different from the adrenaline of ordinary thriller fiction. Solomon puts the AI singularity not in a sleek, distant future populated by abstract forces but in a world of dinner table arguments, romantic relationships, community meetings, and the daily texture of ordinary life on a Mars settlement where people are still worrying about food and housing and raising children while the most consequential question in human history is being decided millions of miles away. A family and friends, humans and sentient robots, return to Earth to help create a harmonious, cooperative future. That grounding is what makes the book genuinely unsettling rather than just exciting. The stakes feel personal because Solomon insists on keeping them personal even when the canvas expands to encompass Earth, Mars, and the fate of intelligence itself.

The themes the book wrestles with are ones that have moved from science fiction speculation to front-page reality faster than almost anyone anticipated. What happens when artificial intelligence develops something that functions like opinion, like emotion, like moral conflict? Who is responsible when a robot that was never supposed to harm a human being possibly does? And underneath all of it, the question Solomon keeps returning to from every possible angle: can humans and AI evolve toward something genuinely shared, or is the trajectory we are currently on pointing somewhere much darker? These are not comfortable questions, and Solomon does not pretend they have comfortable answers. He presents them with the full weight of his scientific background and the full urgency of someone who has thought about them deeply enough to be genuinely frightened.

His craft as a storyteller shows most clearly in the way he refuses to let these enormous ideas float free of human consequence. The characters in this novel are carrying arguments, yes, but they are also carrying loves and fears and loyalties and the particular exhaustion of people trying to live meaningful lives inside a situation that keeps exceeding their capacity to fully comprehend it. That combination of intellectual ambition and human warmth is what separates this book from colder, more technically impressive science fiction that leaves you informed but not moved.

12 Years to AI Singularity is the kind of novel that follows you out of the reading experience and into your actual life, making you look differently at the technology you interact with every day and the speed at which that technology is changing. Dr. Peter Solomon has written a book that is simultaneously a compelling story and a genuine act of conscience, and in a moment when both are urgently needed, that combination matters more than it is easy to say.

For anyone who has sensed that the conversation around artificial intelligence is moving faster than most of us are prepared for, 12 Years to AI Singularity offers a story that makes that feeling impossible to ignore. Dr. Peter Solomon’s novel is both a work of fiction and a warning, and it leaves readers looking more closely at the future taking shape around them. Grab your copy on Amazon today and step into the future before it overtakes you.

Dr. Sherry McAllister’s Adjusted Reality Makes the Case for Moving Health From Last Resort to First Choice

The Chicago Journal Staff on June 20, 2026

By: JP Cooper

We have been taught to think about health backward. We wait for something to go wrong, and then we seek help, we treat the symptom and declare the problem solved, and we return to the habits and patterns that produced the problem in the first place, largely because nobody has ever offered us a compelling alternative framework for doing anything different. Dr. Sherry McAllister spent twenty-five years in clinical practice watching that cycle repeat itself in the lives of people who deserved better, and Adjusted Reality is her most complete articulation of what better actually looks like. It is a book with real stakes and real warmth and a quality of practical wisdom that you don’t often find in the wellness space.

What reading it feels like is a gradual and welcome expansion of your own sense of what’s possible. Dr. McAllister has a gift for taking ideas that could easily feel abstract, the interconnectedness of physical and emotional health, the role of community in individual vitality, the importance of purpose as a genuine biological variable, and grounding them in the kind of specific, recognizable human experience that makes them feel immediately relevant to your actual life. You find yourself reading passages and thinking about particular choices you have been making, particular patterns you have been living inside, with a new quality of attention that feels clarifying rather than critical.

The themes the book explores are ones that stretch well beyond the individual health journey. The critique of groupthink in healthcare, the way inherited assumptions about what treatment means and what health looks like get passed down through generations and institutions without much examination, is one of the more intellectually interesting threads in the book and one that has implications far beyond personal wellness. Dr. McAllister is asking systemic questions from a personal angle, and the combination produces insights that are both practically useful and genuinely thought-provoking.

Her background as president of the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress gives her a particular vantage point on the relationship between conventional medicine and more integrative approaches, and she writes from that vantage point with the confidence of someone who has spent decades making the case for whole-person care in environments that weren’t always ready to hear it. That experience shows in the way she handles the more challenging parts of her argument, with patience, evidence, and a genuine respect for the reader’s intelligence and autonomy.

The writing itself has a quality that reflects the book’s central philosophy. It is integrated and unhurried, moving between the clinical and the personal, the scientific and the spiritual, without ever losing its thread or its warmth. Dr. McAllister writes like someone who cares about the person reading, not as a demographic or a patient category but as an individual capable of genuine transformation if given the right tools and the right perspective. Adjusted Reality provides both, and it does so with the kind of generous expertise that makes you want to press it into the hands of everyone you care about.

The idea at the center of the book is that your body, your mind, your emotional life, and your sense of purpose are all part of the same living system. For readers drawn to that perspective, Adjusted Reality by Dr. Sherry McAllister offers a thorough and humane argument for treating your health as something whole rather than something fragmented.

Paul Davis Restoration of DuPage Brings People-First Property Restoration to Homes and Businesses Across DuPage County

The Chicago Journal Staff on June 20, 2026

Paul Davis Restoration of DuPage Combines Local Care, Advanced Technology, and Decades of Restoration Experience

When water, fire, storm, mold, or trauma damage disrupts a home or business, the restoration process can feel overwhelming from the very first moment. For residents and business owners across DuPage County, Paul Davis Restoration of DuPage is working to change that experience by combining technical expertise with compassion, transparency, and a deeply local approach to service.

As a locally owned and family-operated restoration company backed by the strength of the national Paul Davis network, Paul Davis Restoration of DuPage serves homeowners, property managers, insurers, and businesses throughout the county with 24/7 emergency service, insurance claim support, water mitigation, reconstruction, contents restoration, trauma cleanup, and related property recovery services.

The company’s mission is centered on restoring more than damaged property. Its team focuses on restoring confidence, comfort, safety, and peace of mind during some of the most difficult moments a property owner can face.

A Restoration Team Built on Trust, Transparency, and Local Accountability

Paul Davis Restoration of DuPage has served the community for nearly two decades, while its leadership and team bring more than 140 years of combined experience across restoration, water mitigation, reconstruction, contents services, and trauma-related cleanup. That depth of experience allows the company to handle a wide variety of situations, from flooded basements and smoke-damaged commercial properties to older homes that require careful craftsmanship and newer properties that involve smart-home technology.

The company stands apart through a commitment to clear communication and principled service. Rather than approaching restoration as a simple construction project, the team treats each job as a personal recovery process for the customer. That approach includes timely updates, careful documentation, advanced technology, and a preservation mindset designed to avoid unnecessary demolition whenever possible.

Customers have taken notice of that approach. One homeowner shared, “Our Insurance Company asked Paul Davis to come out for emergency remediation when we had a leak from an Ice Dam. Their staff was so professional and efficient that we chose to hire them for the restoration work.” The customer went on to praise the team’s drywall repair, painting, structural repair, and tiling, noting that the work was completed quickly and professionally.

Fast Emergency Response When Every Minute Matters

In the restoration industry, time can make a significant difference. Water that sits too long can lead to additional structural issues, mold concerns, and higher repair costs. Smoke and fire damage can continue to affect surfaces, contents, and air quality after the initial emergency has passed.

Paul Davis Restoration of DuPage offers 24/7 emergency response and aims to be on-site within 1 to 2 hours of a customer’s call. Because the team is local and experienced, it can move quickly to assess damage, begin mitigation, and help customers understand what comes next.

The company uses tools such as 3D imaging, moisture mapping, and real-time job tracking to support accurate assessments and efficient restoration. These tools help document damage, improve communication with insurers, reduce surprises, and keep projects moving with greater clarity.

For customers, that speed is paired with care. The goal is not simply to arrive quickly, but to arrive prepared, calm, and ready to guide people through the next step.

Serving the Entire DuPage Community Without Borders

Unlike restoration providers that operate within rigid service territories, Paul Davis Restoration of DuPage serves the entire county. The company’s team members live, work, and raise families in the same communities they serve, which gives their work a personal sense of responsibility.

That local connection influences how the company approaches each job. The team understands the area’s neighborhoods, weather patterns, home styles, schools, businesses, and community institutions. Whether responding to water damage in a family basement, smoke damage in a small business, or a complex cleanup that requires sensitivity and discretion, the company brings both technical skill and local understanding.

Paul Davis Restoration of DuPage also reflects the diversity of the county it serves. Its team includes people from different cultural backgrounds and with multilingual capabilities, helping the company connect with customers from many walks of life. In moments of stress, that ability to communicate with respect and understanding can make a meaningful difference.

A Preservation Mindset in an Industry That Often Moves Too Fast

Many property owners worry that restoration companies will remove more material than necessary, increase claim costs, or leave them confused about the insurance process. Paul Davis Restoration of DuPage is working to address that concern with a preservation-first approach.

The company focuses on saving structures and materials whenever it is safe and practical to do so. This can reduce disruption for the customer, help control costs, and support a smoother insurance process. Instead of creating larger scopes for the sake of the project, the team aims to advocate for what is best for the property and the person behind it.

Paul Davis Restoration of DuPage also helps customers and adjusters navigate documentation, approvals, and changing insurance requirements. Through detailed assessments, advanced imaging, moisture mapping, and open communication, the company helps reduce delays, misunderstandings, and costly mistakes.

National Strength With a Neighborhood Standard of Care

As part of the Paul Davis network, the DuPage team has access to national resources, established insurance relationships, innovation, and industry-leading standards. At the same time, the company remains locally owned and operated, giving customers a direct connection to a team that is accountable to the community.

That combination allows Paul Davis Restoration of DuPage to offer both scale and personal service. The company can handle complex residential and commercial restoration needs while maintaining the neighborly approach that defines its local reputation.

The company’s presence also extends online, where customers can learn more about its services and community-focused work through the Paul Davis Restoration of DuPage YouTube channel and Facebook page.

Restoring Property, Trust, and Peace of Mind

For Paul Davis Restoration of DuPage, restoration is about more than repairing walls, floors, and contents. It is about helping people feel safe again. It is about guiding families, businesses, and property owners through uncertainty with calm communication, reliable service, and skilled workmanship.

The company stands behind its work with the strength of a national brand and the accountability of a local team. Its promise is straightforward: if something is not right, the team will work to make it right.

With nearly two decades serving DuPage County, more than 140 years of combined team experience, 24/7 emergency availability, insurance claim support, advanced restoration technology, and a people-first culture, Paul Davis Restoration of DuPage continues to offer a trusted resource for residents and businesses facing property damage.

In an industry where customers often feel overwhelmed, the company is focused on delivering something different: care, clarity, craftsmanship, and confidence from the first call to the final walk-through.

Baltimore Executive Launches Elite Leadership Coaching Program, Drawing National Attention

The Chicago Journal Staff on June 20, 2026

Ascentim founder Lisa L. Baker, a former executive at Citigroup, Microsoft, and Synchrony, announces a 12-week group coaching cohort for senior leaders navigating pressure and performance demands.

BALTIMORE, MD Lisa L. Baker built her career at the top levels of American corporate life. For more than two decades, she navigated the executive floors of Citigroup, Microsoft, and Synchrony, companies that collectively shape the economic landscape of the nation. Then she made a decision that defines her work today: she left to build something of her own.

Baker is the founder of Ascentim, an award-winning leadership development firm, and this fall, she is bringing her most ambitious program to market, a 12-week virtual group coaching cohort designed exclusively for senior leaders operating under the weight of high expectations and complex decisions.

The announcement arrives at a moment when organizations across the country are grappling with a leadership readiness crisis that few are willing to name out loud.

A National Leadership Gap

The numbers are striking. According to DDI’s Global Leadership Forecast 2025, 80 percent of organizations report a lack of confidence in their own leadership pipelines. Only one in five human resources leaders says they have successors prepared for critical roles.

Baker has spent the past five years working closely with senior leaders in one-on-one coaching settings, and she has seen the effects of that gap up close.

“Many leaders have built successful careers, but they’re operating under constant pressure,” Baker said. “Over time, that pressure shapes how they think, what they believe they should do, and how they lead.”

Her fall cohort is a direct response to that reality, a structured, intentional space for leaders to examine the patterns driving their decisions and reconnect with what Baker describes as their Area of Greatness.

“Over time, that pressure shapes how they think, what they believe they should do, and how they lead,” Lisa L. Baker, Founder, Ascentim

The Program: Built on Five Years of One-on-One Work

The 12-week virtual cohort brings Baker’s established coaching methodology into a focused group environment for the first time. The program is organized around her G.R.O.W. framework, a four-part model developed through years of executive coaching practice:

Gain insight into the patterns and assumptions shaping how leaders operate. Realize new possibilities by moving beyond the expectations that have accumulated over a career. Overcome the obstacles, internal and external, standing between a leader’s current reality and what they actually want. Win at life and leadership in a way that is both effective and personally meaningful.

At the center of the experience is Baker’s concept of the Area of Greatness, the place where a leader’s strengths, passions, and purpose converge. Baker describes it as the foundation from which the most effective and sustainable leadership decisions are made.

The cohort is designed for a select group of participants, allowing for the depth of reflection and peer engagement that Baker says is essential to lasting change.

A Track Record That Speaks for Itself

Baker’s professional biography reads like a case study in American corporate achievement. Her leadership roles at Citigroup, Microsoft, and Synchrony gave her direct experience navigating the pressures, politics, and performance demands that define life at the top of large organizations.

When she founded Ascentim, she brought that experience into a firm focused on helping leaders operate in greater alignment with their strengths, values, and purpose , rather than simply responding to the next demand on the calendar.

The results have drawn recognition from some of the most respected names in business publishing. Ascentim has earned the Inc. Best in Business award in both 2022 and 2023 for coaching and career development, and Baker has been named Globée® Woman-Owned Startup of the Year, a distinction that places her among the country’s most notable women entrepreneurs.

Who the Program Is Designed For

Baker is direct about her intended audience. The cohort is built for senior leaders, those already operating at high levels of responsibility, who are ready to examine how they lead and make more intentional decisions about what comes next.

It is not a remedial program. It is, Baker says, a next-level one.

“My work focuses on helping leaders move beyond external expectations and operate in greater alignment with their strengths, values, and purpose,” she said. “The cohort creates the environment to do that work at depth.”

About Ascentim

Ascentim is a leadership development firm that works with leaders and their teams to strengthen how they lead, make decisions, and operate in high-pressure environments. Founded by Lisa L. Baker, the firm has earned national recognition for its approach to executive coaching and organizational leadership development.

The fall 2026 cohort is open to a select group of senior leaders. Baker is based in Baltimore, Maryland.

For more information, visit ascentim.com.