Sun-Times Chairman Jim Tyree dies (updated)

Photo courtesy of Chicago Sun-Times

(Editor's note: This story was updated on March 19, 2011 due to new information.)

Chicago Sun-Times Chairman James C. Tyree, (known as Jim Tyree) passed away Wednesday night at the age of 53.  On Friday, the Cook County medical examiner's office ruled his death an accident from an air embolism after a dialysis catheter removal. Secondary causes of his death were due to complications from stomach cancer and pneumonia.

Tyree became Chairman of the Sun-Times after leading an investment group to buy the Sun-Times Media Group out of bankruptcy two years ago for $5 million, including the assumption of $20 million in debt.

Tyree was also Chairman of Mesirow Financial Group.

A philanthropist, Tyree donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to charities and championed research on diabetes.

Tyree grew up on Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood on the South Side and graduated from Marist High School in the spring of 1975. He earned his MBA from Illinois State University and also attended classes at the City Colleges of Chicago. In 2000, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley appointed Tyree as Chairman of the City Colleges, a position he held until 2009, when his investment group took over the Sun-Times.

Jim Tyree is survived by his wife Eve, and three children.