Practice Areas
Land Use
Local Government
Elections
Litigation
Education
J.D., University of Illinois
B.A., University of Illinois
Bar & Court Admissions
Illinois
Northern District of Illinois
7th. Cir. Court of Appeals
Memberships
Engaging Local Government Leaders
American Planning Association, Planning and Law Division
Chicago Bar Association, Election Law Committee (Past Chair)
Our People
Daniel J. Bolin
Partner
Dan represents public entities and property owners in wide-ranging local government, land use and election matters across Illinois.
Dan has spent all of his nearly 15-year legal career counseling local governments at Ancel Glink, regularly advising clients at board and commission meetings and managing land use and development matters. Dan’s creative strategies for the repair and demolition of blighted, vacant, and abandoned properties helped his client earn a Lake County Municipal League Innovation Award. Dan prosecutes local ordinance violations, and defends local laws involving controversial land uses and novel civil rights challenges.
Dan is an accomplished election attorney appearing before, serving on, and counseling local electoral boards on challenges to candidate nominating petitions. He is a past chair of the Chicago Bar Association Election Law Committee. Before attending law school, Dan worked for legislators across the state as a policy analyst in the Illinois General Assembly, and worked on municipal, county, legislative, judicial and other political campaigns.
Dan regularly speaks at state and national conferences regarding controversial land uses and emerging municipal law topics. Dan often discusses legal issues affecting local governments as host of Ancel Glink’s Quorum Forum podcast and as co-host of GovLove, the nation’s leading local government podcast presented by the Engaging Local Government Leaders Network (ELGL). Dan’s guest appearance on GovLove earned a Govie Lovie award.
Dan earned his B.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dan graduated magna cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law, where he served as an associate editor on the University of Illinois Law Review and earned a CALI Award in Real Estate Development.
Dan is an accomplished election attorney appearing before, serving on, and counseling local electoral boards on challenges to candidate nominating petitions. He is a past chair of the Chicago Bar Association Election Law Committee. Before attending law school, Dan worked for legislators across the state as a policy analyst in the Illinois General Assembly, and worked on municipal, county, legislative, judicial and other political campaigns.
Dan regularly speaks at state and national conferences regarding controversial land uses and emerging municipal law topics. Dan often discusses legal issues affecting local governments as host of Ancel Glink’s Quorum Forum podcast and as co-host of GovLove, the nation’s leading local government podcast presented by the Engaging Local Government Leaders Network (ELGL). Dan’s guest appearance on GovLove earned a Govie Lovie award.
Dan earned his B.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dan graduated magna cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law, where he served as an associate editor on the University of Illinois Law Review and earned a CALI Award in Real Estate Development.
Experience
Highlights of Dan’s recent practice include:
- Helping local governments through the COVID-19 pandemic with remote meeting participation for elected officials and the public, state and federal funding opportunities, and other emergency actions.
- Local responses to recreational cannabis, including business regulations, prosecutions, taxation, and employment matters.
Presentations
Dan is a frequent speaker on a variety of local government and land use issues at local and national conferences, including:
- Ancel Glink’s Quorum Forum Podcast, including “New Laws for 2022” and 58 more episodes
- GovLove Podcast, including “Zoning Reform with Jake Seid, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning”
Publications
Dan’s writing on important local government and land use issues is included in many publications, including:
- Municipal Minute, regular contributions including “Illinois Supreme Court Finds Cook County Firearm and Ammunition Taxes Unconstitutional,” “More Detail on Governor's Most Recent Disaster Declaration & Remote Meetings,” and “Liquor Laws to Know for Phase 5 and Beyond” (2021)
- “Subdivisions,” IICLE Municipal Law Series Handbook, co-author (2021)
Honors & Awards
- Lake County Municipal League, Innovation Award
- GovLove Podcast, Govie Lovie Award
- CALI Award, Real Estate Development
