Richard M. Daley

Richard M. Daley
Name	Richard M. Daley
Caption	Daley in 2009
Order	54th
Office	Mayor of Chicago
Term start	April 24, 1989
Term end	May 16, 2011
Predecessor	Eugene Sawyer
Successor	Rahm Emanuel
Office2	Cook County State's Attorney
Term start2	1980
Term end2	1989
Predecessor2	Bernard Carey
Successor2	Cecil Partee
Birth name	Richard Michael Daley
Birth date	24 April 1942
Birth place	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Party	Democratic
Spouse	Maggie Corbett, 1972, 2011
Children	3, including Patrick
Father	Richard J. Daley
Education	Providence College, DePaul University (JD)

Richard M. Daley served as the 54th Mayor of Chicago from 1989 to 2011, becoming the longest-serving mayor in the city's history. The son of legendary Chicago boss Richard J. Daley, he presided over a period of massive downtown redevelopment and significant demographic shifts. His tenure was marked by major initiatives in public housing transformation, environmental policy, and education reform, though it was also shadowed by controversies including the Hired Truck Program scandal and the 2004 Chicago ballot access scandal.

Early life and education

Richard Michael Daley was born in the Bridgeport neighborhood, the fourth son of Eleanor "Sis" Daley and powerful Chicago Democratic machine leader Richard J. Daley. He attended Nativity of Our Lord Elementary School before graduating from De La Salle Institute. Daley earned a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Providence College in Rhode Island and later received his Juris Doctor from the DePaul University College of Law. His early career included work as a law clerk for Illinois Supreme Court Justice Francis S. Lorenz and as an attorney at the firm of Anesi, Ozmon, Rodin, Novak & Kohen, Ltd..

Early political career

Daley's political career began with his election as a state senator for the 23rd district in 1972, serving alongside figures like Cecil Partee. In 1980, he was elected Cook County State's Attorney, defeating incumbent Bernard Carey. As state's attorney, he established the first Child Support Enforcement Division in the nation and created a Special Prosecutions Bureau to target public corruption and organized crime. He made an unsuccessful bid for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Illinois in 1982, losing to Adlai Stevenson III.

Mayor of Chicago

Following the death of Harold Washington and the short term of Eugene Sawyer, Daley was elected mayor in a 1989 special election, defeating Timothy C. Evans and Edward Vrdolyak. His administration aggressively pursued a policy of downtown revitalization and neoliberal urban development, championing projects like Millennium Park, the Chicago Riverwalk, and the expansion of O'Hare International Airport. He implemented the controversial Chicago Public Schools Renaissance 2010 plan, which closed numerous schools and promoted charter schools. Daley also gained national attention for his environmental initiatives, including the Chicago Climate Action Plan and planting hundreds of thousands of trees. Major scandals during his tenure included the Hired Truck Program scandal, the 2004 Chicago ballot access scandal, and the privatization of the Chicago Skyway and Chicago parking meters.

Post-mayoral career

After leaving the City Council in 2011, Daley joined the law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman as a senior advisor. He serves as a board member for the Chicago-based technology company SMS Assist and the global advisory firm TPG Inc.. In 2014, he co-founded the urban sustainability advocacy organization The Chicago Forum and has been a lecturer at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. He also serves on the executive committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Personal life

In 1972, Daley married Maggie Corbett, a former Marshall Field's employee and founder of the Gallery 37 arts program; she died in 2011 from metastatic breast cancer. They had three children: Nora Daley Conroy, Patrick Daley, and John Daley's cousin, Kevin Daley. A lifelong resident of Chicago, he has lived in the South Loop neighborhood. He is a devout Roman Catholic and a member of the Old St. Patrick's Church.

Legacy

Daley's legacy is defined by his physical transformation of Chicago's urban core, cementing its reputation as a global city through architecture, public art, and green infrastructure. His aggressive public housing demolition and replacement with mixed-income development under the Plan for Transformation radically altered the city's landscape. Critics argue his policies accelerated gentrification and school segregation, while his administration's corruption scandals tarnished its record. Historians often place him within the lineage of bossism exemplified by his father, yet also as a pivotal figure in the era of the CEO mayor.

Category:1942 births Category:American city mayors Category:Chicago mayors Category:DePaul University alumni Category:Living people Category:People from Chicago