Chicago PR Firms: The Leading Public Relations Agencies in Chicago

By the Everything-PR Editorial Team
Edited on Sep 5, 2026.

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The largest PR firm headquartered in Chicago is Edelman, the world's largest independent PR firm by revenue, founded in Chicago in 1952, followed by Golin (founded 1956, McDonald's the founding client) and B2B tech specialist Walker Sands. Chicago is the third-largest U.S. PR market by agency count and the fourth-largest by Fortune 500 corporate concentration, with 36 Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the metro area, McDonald's, United Airlines, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Abbott Laboratories, AbbVie, Allstate, and dozens more.

The leading PR firms in Chicago at a glance

Rank	Firm	Founded	Why they rank
1	Edelman	1952	World's largest independent PR firm; Chicago flagship office; ~$986M global revenue
2	Golin	1956	McDonald's the founding client, still flagship account; ~50 offices globally
3	Walker Sands	2001	Deepest B2B tech PR bench outside the coasts; ~215 employees, $35M revenue
4	Jasculca Terman Strategic Communications	1979	Deep Illinois state and Chicago city hall public affairs relationships
5	Public Communications Inc. (PCI)	1962	Distinctive niche: zoo, aquarium, science, cultural-institution PR
6	FleishmanHillard Chicago	1946 (firm)	One of Omnicom's largest U.S. operations; corporate, healthcare, public affairs
7	L.C. Williams & Associates (LCWA)	1979	Consumer brand, home/lifestyle, food and beverage, franchise specialty

The CME Group anchors the world's largest financial derivatives marketplace. The University of Chicago Booth School, Northwestern's Kellogg School, and the broader Big Ten research universities feed the corporate talent base. Chicago is also the historical birthplace of modern public relations as a discipline, Edelman, Golin, Hill+Knowlton (now Burson), and several of the firms that defined the category were founded in or anchored to Chicago.

This is the working 2026 directory of Chicago PR firms, Chicago-headquartered independents, Chicago-anchored holding-company offices, and the specialist firms that serve Chicago's distinctive sector mix.

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The Sectors That Drive Chicago PR

Corporate communications and reputation. The 36 Fortune 500 headquarters concentration drives the largest single category of Chicago PR work. McDonald's, United, Walgreens, Abbott, AbbVie, Allstate, ADM, Discover, Exelon, Mondelez, Kraft Heinz, Motorola, Northern Trust, Ulta, Grainger, each runs continuous corporate communications infrastructure with Chicago-based agency support and Chicago-based in-house teams.

B2B and industrial. Caterpillar (Illinois manufacturing presence retained after the 2022 HQ move to Texas), Grainger, ADM, Boeing (operational presence retained after the 2022 HQ move to Arlington), the broader Midwest industrial base, and the manufacturing-distribution-logistics infrastructure all generate sustained B2B PR demand. Chicago is the densest U.S. B2B PR market after New York.

Financial services and derivatives. CME Group, the Chicago Board of Trade, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Northern Trust, Discover Financial Services, and the broader Chicago financial-services concentration drive specialist financial PR work.

Healthcare and life sciences. Abbott, AbbVie, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Baxter, Hospira (now Pfizer), Northwestern Memorial, Rush University Medical Center, the University of Chicago Medical Center, and the broader Chicago healthcare and pharma ecosystem generate substantial healthcare communications demand.

Consumer brands and CPG. McDonald's, Kraft Heinz, Mondelez, Conagra Brands, Beam Suntory, Wrigley (Mars), Ulta Beauty, US Foods, and the broader Chicago consumer brand ecosystem anchor major consumer PR activity.

Transportation and aviation. United Airlines, Boeing (legacy operational presence), the Chicago Department of Aviation (O'Hare and Midway), and the broader transportation cluster generate sustained aviation and transportation PR work.

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The Leading Chicago PR Firms

Edelman

Chicago-headquartered. Founded in Chicago in 1952 by Daniel Edelman. The largest independent PR firm in the world, approximately $986M global revenue across 60+ offices in 28 countries. CEO Richard Edelman. The Chicago office is the firm's flagship, anchoring corporate reputation, public affairs, technology, health, and food and beverage practices. Publisher of the annual Edelman Trust Barometer, the most-cited PR-industry research instrument in market.

Golin

Chicago-headquartered. Founded in Chicago in 1956 by Al Golin. Part of Interpublic Group (and as of 2025, part of the Omnicom-IPG merger). McDonald's was the founding client and remains a multi-decade flagship account. CEO Jon Hughes. Approximately 50 offices globally. Strong across consumer brand, corporate communications, healthcare, and food and beverage. Sister firm to DeVries Global under the IPG/Omnicom umbrella.

FleishmanHillard Chicago

Major Midwest office of the Omnicom-owned global PR network. Founded in St. Louis 1946; Chicago office is one of the firm's largest U.S. operations. Strong corporate reputation, healthcare, technology, and public affairs practices. Substantial Fortune 500 Chicago client base.

Weber Shandwick Chicago

Major Chicago office of the now-Omnicom-owned global PR firm (post-2025 IPG-Omnicom merger). CEO Susan Howe. Named PRWeek Corporate Agency of the Year 2026.

Burson Chicago

Major Chicago office of Burson, the WPP-owned global communications firm formed in 2024 from the merger of BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe) and Hill+Knowlton Strategies. Strong corporate communications, public affairs, healthcare, and crisis practices. Hill+Knowlton's pre-merger Chicago heritage runs back decades; the combined Burson Chicago operation anchors the firm's Midwest practice.

MSL Group Chicago

Chicago office of MSL, the strategic communications arm of Publicis Groupe. Strong consumer, healthcare, food and beverage, and corporate communications.

Ketchum Chicago

Major Chicago office of Ketchum, the Omnicom-owned global PR firm. Strong consumer brands, food and beverage, healthcare, and corporate reputation.

Jasculca Terman Strategic Communications

Founded 1979 by Rick Jasculca and Jim Terman. Chicago-headquartered independent. One of the longest-running Chicago independents. Public affairs, government relations, crisis communications, and corporate reputation specialty. Deep relationships with Illinois state government, Chicago city hall, and the Cook County political infrastructure.

Public Communications Inc. (PCI)

Founded 1962. Chicago-headquartered. One of the oldest Chicago independent PR firms. Specializes in zoo, aquarium, science, and cultural-institution communications, the Lincoln Park Zoo, Brookfield Zoo, Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum, Adler Planetarium, and dozens of national peer institutions. Distinctive niche position in cultural and educational institution PR.

Walker Sands

Founded 2001. Chicago-headquartered. Approximately 215 employees, $35M 2025 revenue. B2B growth services agency specializing in enterprise software, SaaS, cybersecurity, fintech, and B2B technology brands. Mountaingate Capital acquired October 2025. Co-CEOs Andrew Cross and Dave Parro since January 2024. Proprietary Atlas AI platform + AI Domain Impact Index. One of the deepest B2B tech PR benches outside the coasts. See EPR's Walker Sands profile.

L.C. Williams & Associates (LCWA)

Founded 1979 by Lou Williams. Chicago-headquartered independent. Consumer brand, home and lifestyle, food and beverage, and franchise communications specialty. Long-running roster across consumer brands and franchise systems.

Jaffe

National legal-industry PR firm with substantial Chicago operations. Specializes in law firm marketing and communications, attorney positioning, and legal-industry thought leadership. One of the dominant legal PR specialists in the U.S.

FGS Global Chicago

Chicago office of FGS Global, the KKR-majority-owned global strategic communications firm formed from the merger of Finsbury, Sard Verbinnen, Hering Schuppener, and Glover Park Group. Strong M&A communications, IR, special situations, and corporate reputation for Chicago-headquartered Fortune 500 and public-company clients.

ICR Chicago

Chicago office of ICR, the New York-headquartered independent IR and strategic-communications firm. Strong investor relations, IPO advisory, and capital-markets communications for Chicago-area public-company clients.

How to Choose: Comparison FAQs

Edelman vs. Golin for a Chicago Fortune 500 mandate, which fits? Both are Chicago-founded global leaders. Edelman has broader global scale and the Trust Barometer's reputation-research authority. Golin has deep consumer/food-and-beverage roots from its McDonald's founding relationship, the sharper choice for consumer brand work specifically.

Walker Sands vs. a global network for B2B tech PR, which one? Walker Sands is a dedicated B2B growth agency with proprietary AI visibility tools (Atlas platform) built specifically for enterprise software, SaaS, and fintech. A global network (Edelman, FleishmanHillard) offers broader multi-sector capability if the tech mandate needs to integrate with wider corporate communications.

Jasculca Terman vs. PCI for a nonprofit/institutional mandate, which fits? Jasculca Terman specializes in public affairs and government relations for organizations navigating Illinois/Chicago political dynamics. PCI is the dedicated specialist for cultural and scientific institutions (zoos, aquariums, museums), choose based on whether the mandate is government-facing or institution-facing.

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Agency Profile — Walker Sands

EPR has published a full standalone profile for one Chicago-headquartered firm:

• Walker Sands, B2B growth services, Chicago HQ, founded 2001, 215 employees, $35M revenue, Mountaingate Capital-owned since Oct 2025, Co-CEOs Andrew Cross & Dave Parro, proprietary Atlas AI platform

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