Richard J. DaleyThe Most Interesting Mayor in

Chicago’s History

Overview• Mayor from 1955 – 1976• Elected to 5 terms• Operated one of most efficient, notorious

political machines in American history• Widely regarded as the mayor who saved

Chicago from the fate of many other Midwestern cities.

• Died on December 20th, 1976

Early Life• Born and raised in

Bridgeport (third of five mayors)

• Irish Catholic• Parents instilled a

desire for professional excellence

Democratic Machine• Patronage and gifts for supporters• Close ties to aldermen in City Council• Connection to national Democratic politicians,

including: JFK, LBJ, and other politicians who do not have a three letter acronym for their name.

• Many Daley administration workers charged with corruption, but he was never.

Accomplishments• Kept Chicago from

downfall of other rust-belt cities (Detroit, Cleveland)

• Revitalized Loop• McCormick Place, UIC,

O’Hare, Sears Tower• Kept Chicago in great

fiscal standing

The Dan Ryan Expressway - 1961

Controversy• 1968– MLK assassination aftermath

• "I said to him very emphatically and very definitely that an order be issued by him immediately to shoot to kill any arsonist or anyone with a Molotov cocktail in his hand, because they’re potential murderers, and to shoot to maim or cripple anyone looting.”

– Democratic Convention• The Dan Ryan Expressway• Public Housing and Racial Segregation