Congratulations to REALTORS® Tommy Choi and Eddie Garcia on being chosen for the Crain’s Chicago Business “40 Under 40” Class of 2020. Crain’s, which recognizes Chicago-area residents who are leaders in their professional fields, announced this year’s class on Friday.

Among the honorees are Tommy Choi, co-owner of Keller Williams Chicago-Lincoln Park ONE, and a past president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® (CAR). Choi is actively involved in Illinois REALTORS® and currently serves on the state association’s Board of Directors. He also is a State Legislative Contact for state Rep. Greg Harris.

From Choi’s Crain’s profile: In 2019, Choi was involved in $71.7 million in home sales, while also serving as president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS®, the first Korean American to head the influential group. In 2021, he’ll be the first Asian American vice president of the National Association of REALTORS®. During Choi’s presidency at CAR, he led the board’s effort to issue a formal apology for its historical role in discriminatory housing practices, at a half-century celebration of the federal Fair Housing Laws.

Eddie Garcia, founder and president of Realty of Chicago, is a past president of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) Chicago West chapter.  Garcia has also served as State Legislative Contact for Illinois REALTORS®.

From Garcia’s Crain’s profile: Real estate, Garcia says, “is a great profession because you can help people become owners of a piece of the American Dream.” Garcia’s firm has four offices—three of them in Chicago—and 150 licensed agents. Since opening in 2012, he says, the firm has handled about $900 million in residential transactions. By mid-August, it had done about 780 transactions and was on pace to hit its annual goal of 1,000, despite setbacks from the COVID-19 crisis.