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Matt Hynes

Age: 42

Occupation: Director, Office of Legislative Counsel and Government Affairs, City of Chicago

Few on City Hall’s fifth floor have as much face time with Rahm (No. 1) as Hynes. As the mayor’s top lobbyist, he is tasked with turning Rahm’s policy agenda into reality—from ordinances in the City Council to pension reform in Springfield. “Matt draws the road map to get the mayor’s agenda done,” says one City Hall insider. Heading into next year’s election, Rahm will no doubt lean on Hynes’s considerable connections (his father, Tom, is the former president of the Illinois Senate; brother Dan was state comptroller). Adds the insider: “Rahm couldn’t do his reelection without Matt.”