Matt Kreis

Matt Kreis is General Counsel at the Center for Community Progress. In addition to serving as in-house counsel for the organization, he brings two decades of experience in local government and the nonprofit field to help communities identify and reform the laws and policies that touch vacant, deteriorated properties.

Pragmatic and empathetic, Kreis is a leading voice in national issues touching housing and building code enforcement, delinquent property tax enforcement, land reuse and land banking, and general municipal and real estate law. Kreis has worked closely with communities in Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, New York, West Virginia, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Indiana, Connecticut, and other states to develop more equitable and effective approaches to code enforcement and land banking. He has helped to draft and advise key partners in the creation of state land bank laws and to improve delinquent property tax and code lien enforcement in states including Illinois, Alabama, Texas, Minnesota, and Michigan.

Prior to joining Community Progress, Kreis spent 10 years as an attorney at the City of Chicago’s Department of Law. Driven by a deep commitment to improving all of Chicago’s neighborhoods, Kreis worked closely with City departments and officials to enhance the tools needed to address vacant, deteriorated properties. His experience working directly with City officials, lawyers, code inspectors, property owners, developers, and residents of neighborhoods most impacted by vacancy and disinvestment has helped to shape his work as a member of the technical assistance team and to foster a strong commitment to racial and economic justice.

Kreis received his bachelor’s degree from Augustana College and a Juris Doctor from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. He is based in Chicago, Illinois.