First Midwest Bancorp, Inc. Mourns the Death of a Director

ITASCA, IL, Apr 07 (MARKET WIRE) --
First Midwest Bancorp, Inc. (the "Company" or "First Midwest") (NASDAQ:
FMBI), the holding company of First Midwest Bank, announced today with
great regret the death of Vernon A. Brunner, a member of its Board of
Directors ("Board"), on Wednesday, April 1, 2009. He was 68 years old.

"Vern was a true gentleman as well as a good friend and counselor to First
Midwest," said Michael L. Scudder, the Company's President and Chief
Executive Officer. "He was a terrific advocate of our Company, and we
valued his insights and wisdom. We will miss him greatly."

Mr. Brunner had served as a director of First Midwest since November of
2006, and previously had served as a member of the Board from 1997 through
2005. At the time of his death, Mr. Brunner was serving as the Chair of
the Board's Compensation Committee.

Pursuant to the Company's Corporate Governance Guidelines, director J.
Stephen Vanderwoude, the current Vice-Chair of the Board's Compensation
Committee and Chair of its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee,
has assumed the role of Compensation Committee Chair. Director Brother
James Gaffney, the current Vice-Chair of the Board's Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee, has assumed the role of Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee Chair.

About the Company:

First Midwest is the premier relationship-based banking franchise in the
growing Chicagoland banking market. As one of the Chicago metropolitan
area's largest independent bank holding companies, First Midwest provides
the full range of both business and retail banking and trust and
investment management services through some 100 offices located in 62
communities, primarily in metropolitan Chicago. First Midwest was
recently recognized by the Alfred P. Sloan awards for Business Excellence
in Workforce Flexibility in the greater Chicago Area.

CONTACT:
Cynthia A. Lance
Executive Vice President and Corporate Secretary
(630) 875-7345
www.firstmidwest.com

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