41.866° N, 88.107° W · Wheaton, Illinois

Kristyn Robinson

Land and Municipal Process Specialist

I guide multi-property projects through local government. I research the land records, learn what each village requires, prepare the documents, and coordinate every office until the transaction closes correctly. My work serves land banks, land trusts, and affordable housing projects.

Background

How I got here

In high school I wanted to be a doctor or a diplomat. Political science held me, because I wanted to understand how societies and communities are structured and how they change.

I joined the Army National Guard in 2007 to do disaster relief and emergency management. Over ten years I served in chemical and nuclear defense, supply, and infantry, deployed to Afghanistan with Agribusiness Development Teams, and finished as a geospatial engineer and liaison between units and emergency management agencies in Kentucky.

In 2017 the U.S. Forest Service hired me through its VetWorks program for land special uses work. I chose to stay in Chicago instead, and began learning how land moves through local government across hundreds of municipalities. Each village runs its process differently, and I learn every one of them by working directly with the public servants behind the counter.

Today I bring that knowledge to the organizations building the world I want to live in: land banks, land trusts, cooperatives, and affordable housing.

Services

How I work with you

Land records research

Plats, subdivision books, Torrens records, and book-and-page retrieval, so you know exactly what you are acquiring.

Village clearance

Water accounts, inspections, landlord registration, and open permits, cleared before they can hold up a transfer stamp.

Document preparation

Declarations, MyDec filings, deeds, and recordings, prepared to each office's requirements and right the first time.

Remote coordination

I work by phone, email, and mail, and arrange courier or local field support when a visit in person is required.

Each project carries a fixed fee per property, agreed at the start. Office and government fees pass through at cost.

Experience

Career route

  1. 2017 – present

    Senior Specialist, Land Records and Municipal Compliance

    Loop Clerking Service, Inc. · Chicago, Illinois
    • Serves 778 institutional clients across more than 350 municipalities in a ten-county region, including title companies, real estate attorneys, lenders, the Cook County Land Bank, the South Suburban Land Bank, and municipalities.
    • Obtains about 500 municipal real estate transfer stamps a year, clearing each village's water, inspection, registration, and permit requirements first.
    • Completes more than 1,000 City of Chicago zoning certifications a year, verifying PINs, addresses, and dwelling units against city building records.
    • Handles about 500 land records requests a year at the Cook County Clerk's Tract Department and more than 1,000 document recordings and filings.
    • Resolves stalled transactions by tracing the department holding them, learning what it needs, and setting clear options before the client.
    • Redesigned the firm's zoning order workflow to give each request one owner, fewer handoffs, and direct client communication.
  2. 2013 – 2017

    Staff Sergeant, Geospatial Engineer and Liaison

    Kentucky Army National Guard · 63rd Theater Aviation Brigade and Joint Force Headquarters · Frankfort, Kentucky
    • Liaison for Joint Force Headquarters to the Emergency Operations Center at Boone National Guard Center and to the agencies in Franklin County's disaster planning and emergency management.
    • Liaison between the intelligence and operations sections, across units and agencies.
    • Sourced data from outside holders and built geodatabases, shapefiles, and maps for emergency planning.
    • Held an interim Secret clearance.
  3. 2010 – 2012

    Infantryman, Agribusiness Development Team Security

    Deployed to Afghanistan 2011 – 2012 · Bamyan, Parwan, Kapisa, Panjshir, and Kandahar
    • Provided dismounted patrol and security for the officers leading agricultural development work with local communities.
    • Served on the Female Engagement Team, joined civil affairs meetings, and learned conversational Dari.
  4. 2007 – 2010

    CBRN Specialist, then Supply Specialist

    Kentucky Army National Guard
    • Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense, followed by unit supply and logistics.
  5. Education

    BS, Applied Geography

    University of Louisville · Geospatial Technologies track
    • Graduate teaching assistant in public health and epidemiology mapping for two years.
Values

What guides the work

IntegrityCompassionWellbeing

I measure success collectively, by how well people and the land are doing together.

Availability

Open to project contracts

Available for land and municipal process work with land banks, land trusts, cooperatives, and affordable housing organizations. Based in the Chicago western suburbs and working remotely.

kristynrobinson.com