Chicago's Largest Minority-Owned Firms

ranked by 2008 revenue

	Firm Address	Phone/fax/Web address	Top executive	% change from 2007	Minority group of ownership	Year Founded	2008 local employees 2008 total worldwide employees	Description of business
1	MAT Holdings Inc. 6700 Wildlife Way, Long Grove 60047 (847) 821-9630; www.midwest-air.com	Steve W. Wang, CEO	$486.0	6.8%	Asian	2007	155 988	Manufacturer of automotive parts, power equipment, fencing and lawn and garden products
2	Harpo Inc. 110 N. Carpenter St., Chicago 60607 (312) 633-1000;www.oprah.com	Oprah G. Winfrey, Chairman	$340.0	-1.4%	Black	1986	453 477	Television, film production; publishing, new media
3	Johnson Publishing Co. 820 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago 60605 (312) 322-9200;www.johnsonpublishing.com	Linda Johnson Rice, Chairman, CEO	$328.0	-27.6%	Black	1942	156 340	Publishing, television production, entertainment, cosmetics, consumer products
4	Flying Food Group LLC 212 N. Sangamon St., Suite 1A, Chicago 60607 (312) 243-2122;www.flyingfood.com	Sue Ling Gin, Chairman, CEO	$321.0	7.7%	Asian	1983	454 3,311	Airline catering; prepared meals
5	Veluchamy Enterprises Inc. 1213 Butterfield Road, Downers Grove 60515 (708) 449-2800;www.veluchamy.com	Pethinaidu Veluchamy, Chairman, CEO	$300.0	-7.7%	Asian	1974	1,500 3,000	Direct marketing, banking, real estate
6	Raja Foods LLC 8110 N. St. Louis Ave., Skokie 60076 (847) 675-4455;www.rajafoods.com	Rakesh Patel, President	$188.0(1)	4.4%	Asian	1974	100 450	Chain of 37 Indian groceries; importer of Indian food
7	Gas Depot Inc.(2) 8700 N. Waukeegan Road, Suite 200, Morton Grove 60053 (847) 581-0303;www.gasdepot.com	George Nediyakalayil, President	$165.9	17.0%	Asian	1999	16 17	Wholesale distributor of petroleum products
8	Baldwin Richardson Foods Co. 20201 S. La Grange Road, Suite 200, Frankfort 60423 (815) 464-9994;www.brfoods.com	Eric G. Johnson, President, CEO	$140.0	13.8%	Black	1997	9 218	Manufacturer of sauces, condiments, toppings, syrups and fruit and specialty fillings
9	Advantage Auto Group 9510 W. Joliet Road, Hodgkins 60525 (877) 286-2809;www.advantagechev.com	Desmond Roberts, President	$100.0(1)	-33.9%	Black	1999	150(1) 150(1)	Auto dealership
10	Sayers 40 Inc. 1150 Feehanville Drive, Mount Prospect 60056 (847) 391-4040;www.sayers.com	Gale E. Sayers, President, CEO	$92.0	-11.5%	Black	2003	35 51	Information technology products and services
11	Evans Food Group Ltd. 4118 S. Halsted St., Chicago 60609 (773) 254-7400;www.evansfood.com	Alejandro Silva, CEO	$81.6(3)	2.0%	Hispanic	1947	100(3) 400(3)	Snack food manufacturer
12	FSH Communications LLC 100 W. Monroe St., Suite 2101, Chicago 60603 (312) 269-9937;www.fshcommunications.com	Donald V. Goens, President, CEO	$75.0(1)	5.5%	Black	2003	8(1) 180(1)	Provider of payphone and prepaid card telecommunication services
12	Sutton Ford Inc. 21315 Central Ave., Matteson 60443 (708) 720-8000;www.suttonford.com	Nathaniel K. Sutton, President	$75.0(1)	-10.7%	Black	1989	80(1) 80(1)	Auto dealership
14	Azteca Foods Inc. 5005 S. Nagle Ave., Chicago 60638 (708) 563-6600;www.aztecafoods.com	Arthur R. Velasquez, Chairman	$60.0	13.2%	Hispanic	1970	150 210	Food manufacturer
15	Tyson Motor Corp. 1 SW Frontage Road, Shorewood 60404 (815) 741-5530;www.tysonmotor.com	Anthony H. Blake, President	$57.8	3.2%	Hispanic	1986	64 64	Auto dealerships
16	Capsonic Group LLC 495 Renner Drive, Elgin 60123 (847) 429-0710;www.capsonic.com	Gregory G. Liautaud, CEO	$57.0(1)	-17.4%	Black	1968	200(1) 500(1)	Manufacturer of plastic products and electro-mechanical switches
17	Ariel Investments LLC 200 E. Randolph St., Suite 2900, Chicago 60601 (312) 726-0140;www.arielinvestments.com	John W. Rogers Jr., Chairman, CEO	$54.0	-40.9%	Black	1983	74 74	Investment adviser
18	Loop Capital Markets LLC 200 W. Jackson Blvd., 16th floor, Chicago 60606 (312) 913-4900;www.loopcapital.com	James Reynolds, Chairman, CEO	$50.0	30.5%	Black	1997	64 100	Global investment bank and brokerage firm
19	Environmental Systems Design Inc. 175 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite 1400, Chicago 60604 (312) 372-1200;www.esdesign.com	Raj P. Gupta, President	$42.0	6.3%	Asian	1967	240 240	Engineering design
20	Verinon Technology Solutions Ltd. 3395 N. Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights 60004 (847) 577-5256;www.verinon.com	Tewabe Ayenew, President, CEO	$38.4	40.2%	Black	2002	325 800	Information technology consulting
21	Quinnox Inc. 2056 Westings Ave.,, Suite 190, Naperville 60563 (630) 548-4800;www.quinnox.com	Anil Kumar, Chairman, CEO	$36.7	-9.7%	Asian	2002	28 1,004	Information technology consultant
22	Blackwell Consulting Services Inc. 100 S. Wacker Drive, Suite 800, Chicago 60606 (312) 553-0730;www.bcsinc.com	Robert D Blackwell, Chairman, CEO	$33.1	0.5%	Black	1992	103 211	Management and information technology consulting
23	Cardenas Marketing Network Inc. 1459 W. Hubbard, Chicago 60622 (312) 492-6424;www.cmnevents.com	Henry Cardenas, CEO	$30.0	-17.2%	Hispanic	2003	30 30	Multicultural event marketing and sponsorship agency
23	Electronic Knowledge Interchange Co. 33 W. Monroe St., 17th floor, Chicago 60603 (312) 236-0903; www.eki-consulting.com	Robert Blackwell Jr. Diego Ferrer, Co-CEOs	$30.0(1)	-3.2%	Black	1996	90(1) 90(1)	Information technology consulting
23	Midwestern Cash & Carry Groceries LLC(4) 2577 W. Armitage Ave., Chicago 60647 (773) 486-5403; NA	Mubbasher A. Khan, CEO	$30.0	0.1%	Asian	2008	25 25	Wholesale grocer, cigarette distributor, restaurant supplier

(1) Crain's estimate.