Richard Demarest Yant has been elected to the board of directors of the Union League Club of Chicago, a 137-year-old non-partisan civic, cultural and philanthropic organization. He also will chair the Club’s public affairs committee.  

An attorney who practices with the business law firm of Krasnow Saunders Kaplan & Beninati LLP, Yant focuses on commercial real estate, equipment financing, business and financial matters.  He serves as counsel to entrepreneur and family-owned businesses as well as multinational, regional and small financial institutions and leasing companies.

Prior to joining KSKB he was a partner in the Chicago office of Seyfarth Shaw, LLP and served as associate general counsel for a Chicago-based entrepreneur-owned holding company.

The Union League Club of Chicago traces its roots to 1862 when Chicago Tribune editor Joseph Medill and other Midwest civic leaders launched a movement in support of a somewhat fragile federal union under the banner, “Union Leagues of America.” In 1879, the Chicago Club of the Union Leagues of America was incorporated and in 1882 changed its name to the Union League Club of Chicago.

Today, the Club’s members are men and women who are active proponents of the Club’s commitment to community, country and culture through a broad range of public, civic, cultural and philanthropic activities that impact the Chicago metropolitan area, the state of Illinois, surrounding states and the nation.

The Club also is recognized as owning the oldest and most important collection of American fine art, nearly 800 pieces, held by a private organization in the Midwest.

Yant served on the Club’s public affairs committee from 2008 to 2014 and chaired its judiciary and administration of justice subcommittees.  He also served on the Club’s technology and member events committees and was co-chair of the Club’s real estate group.

A native of the Calumet Region of northwest Indiana, Yant received a bachelor of science degree in biology with honors and a master of science degree in aquatic ecology both from Purdue University. He earned a juris doctor degree cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law. 

Most days of the year, Yant commutes by bicycle to the Loop from his residence in Kenilworth, Illinois. He and his wife, Gwen, are the parents of a son.