Andrew Kopinski’s parents came from two  Roman Catholic immigrant families from war torn Poland.  His father Charles received $2,500 in reparations for being a slave laborer in Nazi Germany during 1944-45 when he was 14 years old..  He emigrated to the United States under the Displaced Persons Act of 1948.  His family chose to emigrate from the British Occupation Zone of Germany to Chicago instead of to Australia like the families of his two uncles did.  Andrew’s father studied architecture and structural engineering and worked as a structural steel detailer or draftsman.  He became an entrepreneur in business for 48 years working until the Great Recession forced him to retire at age 79.   Andrew’s mother was deported to Siberia before age 8 on April 13, 1940.  She had to endure starvation after Operation Barbarossa began on June 22, 1941.  The family left the Soviet Union thanks to the formation of the Polish Second Corps commanded by General Anders, which Andrew’s grandfather and great uncle served in.   The Second Corps became part of the British Eighth Army and fought in Italy, most notably at Monte Casino.  The civilians in the family left through Iran and Iraq and Pakistan briefly before going on to live on the shores of Lake Victoria in British Uganda for  5 1/2 years.  Next, they lived in the United Kingdom for four years before finally immigrating to Chicago thanks to the Refugee Relief Act of 1952.  His parents’ experiences have profoundly affected Andrew’s view of the world.

Andrew Kopinski is a lifelong resident of Cook County.   He grew up in the village of Norridge and graduated from Pennoyer Elementary School and Ridgewood High School, where he was valedictorian and a player on the quarterfinalist football team his senior year.   He also  played basketball and did shot put and discus throwing.  He was admitted to the accounting program at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, which was rated number one in the nation at the time.  However, in addition to majoring in accounting, he also majored in economics, finance, history, and geography while earning four bachelors degrees.   Andrew then passed the Certified Public Accountant and Certified Management Accountant designations.  Next, he attended  IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. where he received Certificates in Environmental Law and International Law.  Andrew was also in a joint program with the Stuart School of Business at IIT earning an MBA studying operations management and information management.  His seventh college degree was a Master pof Science in Taxation earned at DePaul University.  Finally, Andrew recently completed a post baccalaureate Associate of Arts degree at Oakton College, taking classes primarily in criminal justice and sociology.

During his career he has worked as an entrepreneur being an accountant, real estate broker, and lawyer.  His legal career has focused more on transactional law such as tax, corporate, real estate, construction, asset protection, and debt collection defense.  Alarming trends in crime have shifted his attention and focus to criminal law. 

His current hobbies include reading books, mostly about history, politics and religion and watching movies and television shows on streaming services such as Hulu, Netflix, Peacock, Tubi,  and Freevee.  He likes crime, science fiction, and comedy shows.