Talk:Jon Hammes

Biographical details to add
Hello, per my COI disclosure, I am employed by Hammes Company. I am looking to make edits to this article. Due to the COI, I understand that I should not make edits myself. Rather, I am proposing below some requests for editors to review. To begin, this article is very different from other biographies I've read for business people/biographies of living persons on Wikipedia. Much of the information included is not strictly about him. In attempts to make this more of a biography, I would like to suggest adding some details about his background, similar to what I've seen in other articles.

Below, I have a short draft based on media coverage. Can someone please review this with a view to include it in the article should it meet Wikipedia requirements?

Early life and education Hammes was born and raised in south Racine, Wisconsin. He was the third of seven children. His grandfather, who moved to Racine around 1900, built the Hammes Tavern in 1928. Hammes' father, Don, operated the tavern and served as the booster club president at Washington Park High School, from which Hammes and all of his siblings graduated.

Hammes earned his Master of Science degree in real estate and urban land economics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1974. He studied under James Graaskamp, who helped establish real estate as an academic discipline. Hammes also earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

Thank you. Brad KM (talk) 15:24, 21 June 2021 (UTC)


 * So far, my request has not yielded any traction. Therefore, I wanted to see if editors who were previously active on this page could please review. User:BrownHairedGirl and User:Gobonobo, while it has been a few years since either of you made an edit here, it looks like you are the only named editors to have been active in a long time. Would one of you be able to help? Thank you. Brad KM (talk) 20:16, 15 July 2021 (UTC)
 * My only edit was a drive-by categorisation edit in January 2018. I have no further interest in this topic. --  Brown HairedGirl  (talk) • (contribs) 20:21, 15 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Reviewed the edits. Seems like reliable sourcing, and the information doesn't look WP:UNDUE. It isn't directly copied, and it seems relatively neutral, considering it is pretty basic information that most biographies have. Based on the review, it looks fine, so I'll let it proceed. PoliticsIsExciting (talk) 21:43, 16 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Thank you User:PoliticsIsExciting for reviewing. I've made the update and disclosed my COI. Would you be willing to review other requests I post here? Brad KM (talk) 18:10, 19 July 2021 (UTC)
 * I suppose, Brad KM. I'll check this talk page every few days and will answer if no one else does in time.PoliticsIsExciting (talk) 21:44, 19 July 2021 (UTC)

Career details and reorganization
Hello, as I stated above, I am employed by Hammes Company. Due to my COI, I am proposing requests for editors to review rather than making edits. My next request is about the information relating to Jon Hammes' career in this article. As I wrote above, the way this article is written is not typical for a businessperson's page on Wikipedia. The organization and content present a confused view of his business endeavors and past roles.

Below and in my user pages, I have a draft based on media coverage and putting his career information into a more standard structure. There are subsections for "Board service" and "Sports ownership." This draft would replace the following sections that are currently in the article:
 * Sports ownership and The Bog: I have suggested Sports ownership be a subsection of Career and provided updated content.
 * Heartland and Wisconsin investment board: I have rewritten this and included it in the proposed Board service subsection. The draft is based on the sources that mention him.
 * Tomahawk Timberlands, Hammes Co. sports and entertainment arm, Milwaukee Bucks arena, Hammes Co Health Care, Hammes Partners II: All of these are more about the company than Jon Hammes. I have presented trimmed down details that focus on Mr. Hammes using relevant media coverage.

I know this is a lot to share at one time. I value Wikipedia editors' time to help review this and felt it might be easier to see the proposed revisions all at once rather than trying to share smaller pieces that might get confusing.

Can someone please review and update the article if it is within Wikipedia's guidelines?

Career  Hammes started his career with the Trammell Crow Company in 1974 and credits Trammell Crow as a career mentor. In 1987, he succeeded Allan Hamilton as Midwest regional partner after previously serving as a Great Lakes regional partner. While serving in this role, he was involved in the Milwaukee Center development project. Hammes was also a member of the company’s management board.

In 1991, Hammes left Trammell Crow to form Hammes Company, a real estate firm that soon specialized in health care facilities and related developments. He told the Milwaukee Business Journal that the health care sector represented a substantial percentage of gross national product at the time, and it made sense to allocate resources there. Under Hammes’ leadership, the company recruited medical industry specialists and optimized their operations to more effectively compete for health care buildings.

In 2001, Hammes launched the investment arm of Hammes Company that became Hammes Partners.

Hammes has also been personally involved with his company’s construction of sports facilities, including the renovation of Lambeau Field in Green Bay and the development of the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Hammes continues to serve as chairman and CEO of Hammes Company.

Board service Hammes serves on numerous boards associated with the Milwaukee community and the state of Wisconsin, including Junior Achievement of Wisconsin (emeritus member), Marquette University (board of trustees since 2014), the Medical College of Wisconsin (since 2000), Teach For America-Milwaukee, the University of Wisconsin Foundation, Greater Milwaukee Committee, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Association of Commerce, the Milwaukee World Festival (which produces the annual Summerfest music festival), WiCab Inc., the Badger Institute, and the YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee. He also serves on the board of the American Enterprise Institute.

In 1996, Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson appointed Hammes to be chairman of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board. He received criticism during his time in the role when two funds managed by Heartland Advisors that the state had invested into experienced a large drop in value. Hammes was an independent director of Heartland and had referred the firm to the investment board staff. He had recused himself from the consideration process and a report by the Wisconsin State Auditor did not find any evidence he had influenced the investment decision.

Sports ownership Hammes is part of the Milwaukee Bucks' ownership group. He is also an owner of the Lakeshore Chinooks, a Mequon, Wisconsin-based baseball team in the Northwoods League.

In 2015, Hammes and members of his family purchased a golf course known as The Bog in Saukville, Wisconsin through Milwaukee B & E Partners I LLC, an affiliate of Hammes Company.

Thank you. Brad KM (talk) 15:39, 21 July 2021 (UTC)


 * Hello, User:PoliticsIsExciting, I wanted to check in to see if you had a chance to review this request. Would you be able to help with this update? Thank you. Brad KM (talk) 21:15, 28 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Apologies for not checking on this page as frequently as I said I was; I've been sidetracked with some other articles I've been working on. As for the edits, I'm fine with most of it, and as a result, I'll implement those parts that are good. The reorganization of the article seems logical, as the layout is quite messy. The information in the career section you've requested appears fine, though I won't implement the source from PE HUB as I can't really find much attesting to its reliability. Luckily, the source form the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel still adequately sources the claim made. I'm also fine with the sports ownership addition and generally trying to refocus this article on Hammes instead of his companies.
 * Now, what I'm not a giant fan of trying to undercut the two controversies Hammes has ran into (Heartland and the Wisconsin investment board). The current article covers it in more depth and detail than the couple sentences you've dedicated to it. You removed the quote from the Joint Audit Committee, actual numbers that show the scope of the controversy, and removed information on the cease and desist issued to Hammes. I'd suggest working on this in your next requested edit to detail the controversy more. For those reasons, I'll decline that section of your edit, and merge the current article sections to your propose article layout.
 * Thank you for helping to improve Wikipedia. PoliticsIsExciting (talk) 22:27, 28 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Thank you User:PoliticsIsExciting for taking the time to review this and providing your comments. I'm taking on your feedback regarding Heartland and the Wisconsin Investment Board, and will be back with proposed verbiage. I would note, however, that the two controversies you identify are actually just one incident currently discussed twice (at length) in a confusing fashion. Thank you again for your assistance. Brad KM (talk) 15:22, 30 July 2021 (UTC)


 * Hello, User:PoliticsIsExciting and thanks again for your feedback here previously. I have been working on the Heartland and Wisconsin Investment Board material to find a way to clearly summarize the events and Mr. Hammes' involvement. I've put together an update below that provides a chronological explanation of the events including facts and figures. The quote from then-Wisconsin Senator Gary George (attributed in the current text to him as co-chairman of the state legislature's Joint Audit Committee) is one individual's opinion. It was not an official statement from the committee so it feels undue to include it in the article. My suggestion below provides more of the detail around the issue, while sticking to the facts. This summarizes the details from the Heartland section and the two paragraphs under Board service:

In 1996, Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson appointed Hammes to be chairman of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board. In September, 2000, the investment board purchased $8.3 million worth of distressed bonds from Heartland Advisors, a Milwaukee-based firm where Hammes served as an independent director. Given this conflict of interest, Hammes recused himself from the consideration process for the investment, which included a guarantee from Heartland that the state would retain the option of selling the bonds back to the company after two years for the value of the principal plus a 20 percent annual return. In October 2000, the funds in which the state invested lost a combined $62 million in value. A report by the Wisconsin State Auditor issued in November, 2001 did not find any evidence that Hammes had influenced the investment decision. In September 2002, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board was able to sell back the portfolio of distressed bonds to Heartland for the original purchase price, plus an additional $2.93 million, as per the terms of the original bond-sale agreement. In December 2003, the SEC issued a consent order requiring Heartland’s independent directors, including Hammes, to cease and desist violating securities laws, which they agreed to without admitting or denying any wrongdoing.


 * If this works, can it be used to replace the two paragraphs at the end of Board service, and then the Heartland subsection could be removed? Thank you. Brad KM (talk) 19:45, 26 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Been a bit busy with life at the moment, so I'll check on the suggested edit sometime this week if that is fine. PoliticsIsExciting (talk) 17:52, 29 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Thank you for reviewing and please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Brad KM (talk) 21:26, 7 September 2021 (UTC)
 * I once again wish to apologize for how long it took me to get to this. Wikipedia in general has been placed towards the back of my mind at the moment, where I've only worked to maintain a couple pages during spare time I have. Nevertheless, I looked over your requested edit and implemented it in a modified form. I revised the structure of the page to not eliminate the Heartland section, but to simply replace it with a modified form of your summary. To elaborate on how I modified it, I removed the TheStreet source, as I questioned its reliability and the information cited to it was provided by the other, far more reliable source. I also trimmed the information "which included a guarantee from Heartland that the state would retain the option of selling the bonds back to the company after two years for the value of the principal plus a 20 percent annual return" as it wasn't particularly pertinent to Jon Hammes. I added how Hammes referred Heartland to the state board, and also how this overall relationship drew criticism from the co-chair of the Joint Audit Committee. Besides fixing the occasional spacing issue, the rest was added as is. PoliticsIsExciting (talk) 22:01, 25 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Very much appreciate you reviewing my revised request. I think the language you landed on is a good compromise and covers the important details. Two additional small requests: First, Gary George's name is currently misspelled as "Gary Geroge", although the link on his name appears to be correct. Second, I would like to make one more request to move the Heartland material underneath the Board service subsection. With its current placement, it feels like an extension of his Hammes Company career. But both of the positions involved here are board roles, and the reason the Heartland story was noteworthy was because of Hammes’ role on the Wisconsin Investment Board. (The other Heartland directors weren't even named in most coverage.) As such, it feels like the entire Heartland paragraph flows better when placed immediately after details about his other board roles. I am not trying to downplay the story and am fine with keeping a sub-subsection header if you feel it necessary. But I think the paragraph would make more sense to readers if grouped with the other board service material. At a minimum, the Board service section should be moved above Heartland, so readers encounter it first and Heartland doesn't feel like it’s somehow connected to his Hammes Company role. Please let me know what you think. Brad KM (talk) 14:51, 30 September 2021 (UTC)
 * That's a fair point. As a result, I corrected the typo and introduced a subheading under "Board Service" named "Heartland". That way it is still grouped together, and the most notable story about Hammes isn't hidden from the table of contents. I hope that is a fair compromise. PoliticsIsExciting (talk) 16:40, 30 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Thank you for making those changes. I've done my best here to suggest updates that legitimately improve the article for readers and are in line with Wikipedia guidelines (at least the ones I've learned so far). I really appreciate you working with me on this. I have posted another request below if you have time to review it. Thanks again. Brad KM (talk) 16:19, 1 October 2021 (UTC)

New Personal life section
Hello, as stated above, I am employed by Hammes Company. Due to my COI, I am proposing requests for editors to review rather than making edits. My next request is for a new section covering Jon Hammes' personal life.

Below you will find a draft I compiled detailing Hammes' family, charitable donations, and recognitions, with all claims supported by reliable sources. I believe this material would work best as a separate section after Career.

Personal life  Hammes and his wife, Ann, have four children and thirteen grandchildren. He is a member of Marquette University's President's Society.

In 1995, Hammes donated $250,000 to construct the Hammes Field at Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin's Jerome I. Case High School. The field commemorates his father, Don, for his longtime support of youth sports through the YMCA. In 2007, Hammes and 12 other Wisconsin School of Business alumni donated $85 million to the school to support its educational mandate and preserve its name. The gift represented the largest single donation ever given to the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

In 2012, Hammes was recognized by the University of Wisconsin-Madison for his "outstanding entrepreneurial achievement", and received the Wisconsin Real Estate Alumni Association's Wisconsin Award at the Wisconsin Biennial Real Estate Conference. He is also a recipient of the association's Distinguished Alumnus Award. In 2015, Jon and Ann were presented with honorary Doctor of Humanities degrees from the Medical College of Wisconsin. In 2020, they donated $2 million to the Marquette University and Medical College of Wisconsin department of biomedical engineering, which was the largest donation to-date to the joint department.

I am hoping an impartial and experienced editor can review the material above and update the article. Thank you. Brad KM (talk) 14:59, 30 September 2021 (UTC)


 * Hello, User:PoliticsIsExciting, I wanted to check in to see if you would be able to look at this request. I know you are busy and have already been very helpful on this page, so I am grateful for any further assistance. Would you be able to help with this update? Thank you. Brad KM (talk) 13:37, 21 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Hello! Sorry for the delay. I've just finished a fairly time-consuming and stressful period, so I didn't have a lot of time to spare. I reviewed the request, and besides a couple minor edits, I went ahead and implemented it. PoliticsIsExciting (talk) 07:12, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Thank you so much for reviewing and implementing my request! I think your edits make sense. Just one note: It looks like you may have accidentally left out the supporting citations. If there's no opposition, I can add the citations directly. I do not believe this would be considered a COI edit since I would just be filling in sources for language you have already approved. Thank you again.Brad KM (talk) 21:13, 12 November 2021 (UTC)
 * My mistake! I thought I copied them, but it seems like they must've not transferred for whatever reason. They're added now. If there is any minor edits needed (e.g, grammar, typo, etc.) feel free to do them, as they don't really change the meaning of a sentence and aren't susceptible to bias -- they're just copyediting. Glad to help, though. PoliticsIsExciting (talk) 21:57, 12 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Thank you again for your help here. I just posted one last request to slightly revise the intro that I'm hoping you can review. I think it's a very straightforward edit. Brad KM (talk) 15:50, 3 December 2021 (UTC)
 * Happy New Year. I wanted to follow up on the additional sentence proposed for the intro. Please let me know if you would have time to review. Thank you. Brad KM (talk) 15:27, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

New Introduction
Hello, as stated above, I am employed by Hammes Company. Due to my COI, I am proposing requests for editors to review rather than making edits. My final request for the moment is to revise the article's introduction. My proposed wording is very close to the current wording. I have simply added a mention of Mr. Hammes' board involvement.

Jon Hammes is the founder and managing partner of Hammes Company, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based real estate firm. He formerly worked at Trammell Crow Company. Hammes serves on the boards of several organizations, including Marquette University, the Medical College of Wisconsin, Teach For America, and the University of Wisconsin Foundation. In July 2015, Hammes was named co-chair of Scott Walker's presidential fundraising campaign.

I am hoping an impartial and experienced editor can review the revised introduction above and update the article. Thank you. Brad KM (talk) 15:45, 3 December 2021 (UTC)
 * I'm incredibly sorry for the wait -- college has kicked into full gear, unfortunately, so my time to edit Wikipedia has stalled heavily. I'm almost willing to implement this introduction; however, leaving out the Heartland controversy I feel like is a notable omission, considering the introduction is supposed to adequately summarize the article. If you could add a sentence or two addressing the controversy, then I'd be willing to accept it. I'll also guarantee that I'll get back to your revised introduction within a few days of your response. Once again, incredibly sorry! PoliticsIsExciting (talk) 07:46, 10 February 2022 (UTC)

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