Career
Roper was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber from 1993 until 2013. As President and Chief Executive Officer of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Roper led the formation of Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center, an affiliate of the Chamber. He represented the Chamber on city programs including the Zoning Reform Commission, the Mayor’s Council of Technology Advisors, the Chicago Workforce Board, and Mayoral Task Force on Employment of People With Disabilities.
He was chosen by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to be placed on the Governor's Workers’ Compensation Advisory Board, and the Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he resided in the city of Chicago, Illinois. Roper was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2007. He died in Chicago at the age of 74 on June 29, 2015.