Jim Capraro

Who is Jim Capraro?

Jim Capraro is an American Community Organizer and activist. In the early 1970s he worked as a community organizer, pursuing the passage of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and the Community Reinvestment Act.

Jim Capraro assumed his position as the founding Executive Director of the Greater Southwest Development Corp. in January 1976, and continues as its Chief Executive Officer today. GSDC has been designated by the National Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation as a national "model" for commercial revitalization and was also selected by the Chicago Local Initiatives Support Corporation as the recipient of the “Outstanding Community Development Organization” award.

GSDC has achieved over $500 million in community development projects and created or retained over 6,000 jobs in its Southwest Chicago neighborhood, over the past 30 years. GSDC’s development projects range from small business to the creation of elderly housing, siting major retailers, and the $300 million expansion of the worlds largest bakery, Nabisco.