Rick Veenstra has over 25 years of experience in Illinois state and local government. Rick concentrates his practice on matters related to local government, including serving as the chief legal officer to Illinois’ second largest city, and advising clients on development and zoning, procurement, legislative, licensing, ethics, and compliance issues.
Rick interned for the Illinois House of Representatives throughout college and law school. Following his admission to the bar, Rick was appointed an assistant state’s attorney for DuPage County, serving first as a criminal prosecutor and later an attorney representing county government. After working in private practice and in government relations representing municipalities, Rick returned to the State’s Attorney’s Office as deputy chief of its civil bureau and head of its governmental representation and special litigation division. In 2017, Rick was appointed corporation counsel of the City of Aurora and led successful efforts to modernize its Code of Ordinances and reorganize its law department. Since joining Schain Banks, Rick has provided legal representation to many of its public and private sector clients. From 2023 – 2024, Rick served as president of the DuPage County Bar Association, the largest county-based bar association in Illinois, after previously serving as chair of its local government section. He remains active in the DCBA and has taken on leadership roles within the Illinois State Bar Association, including service as Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Government Lawyers and as Secretary of the Local Government Law Section Council.
Over the years, Rick has drafted numerous laws and ordinances to protect vulnerable victims of crime and promote ethics in government. He developed the process that became known as the “DuPage Model” of local government consolidation that is codified as Division 5-44 of the Counties Code and now available statewide. A former township trustee with over a decade of service on municipal planning and zoning commissions, Rick understands the challenges public officials face balancing competing interests when making decisions on behalf of their constituents.