EXHIBIT 23.4


                      CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS


We have issued our report dated May 23, 1997, on the consolidated financial
statements of SparBank, Incorporated and subsidiary as of December 31, 1996 and
for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 1996, included in the
Annual Report on Form 10-K of First Midwest Bancorp, Inc. for the year ended
December 31, 1997. We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference of our
report in Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement and Joint Proxy
Statement/Prospectus of First Midwest Bancorp on Form S-4, (File No. 333-47381),
and to the use of our name as it appears under the caption "EXPERTS."


                                       /s/ GRANT THORNTON LLP





Chicago, Illinois
   
April 27, 1998