Richard Joseph Daley as Mayor of Chicago

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Richard Joseph Daley as Mayor of Chicago

Richard Joseph Daley, the grandson of Irish immigrants, was born in the Bridgeport area of Chicago on May 15, 1902 less than a block from where he later lived as mayor. An only child born to first and second-generation Irish immigrants, Richard J Daley graduated from De La Salle Institute in 1919. As a member of the Hamburg Social and Athletic Club, a local social club/street gang, Daley began his political career with the help of former members Tommy Doyle and Joe McDonough. At twenty-one, he was a precinct captain in McDonough’s ward organization and a member of the Hamburgs. Then he became McDonough’s personal ward secretary and protege. Daley supposedly worked in the stockyards before studying law. “That is just so much bull, he got on a public payroll almost as soon as he was able to vote, and he’s been there since.” (Royko 39) Daley’s first City Hall job came as a clerk in the City Council. In 1923 William Dever, a Democrat was elected a reform mayor. When all the firings were finished, there was Daley, with a patronage job. In 1936 Daley married Eleanor Guilfoyle, and the couple had three daughters and four sons.

Daley held several elected posts before becoming mayor. He was state representative from 1936 to 1938.

“On November 4, 1936 Daley had won his first elective office. The only thing that kept the victory from being perfect was that David Shanahan, who died as speaker of the house in Illinois, had been a Republican, running unopposed. So Daley’s name had to be written in on the Republican side of the ballot. Richard Daley was elected to his first public office as, of all things, a Republican.” (Royko 46)

This made for a rough start for Daley in Springf...

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...c organization in his dual role as mayor and party chairman. He cultivated alliances with organized labor and industry that contributed to Chicago's renaissance at a time when other northern industrial cities were declining. He helped build the world's largest airport and tallest office building, a lakefront convention center, a governmental complex that would later bear his name, a Chicago campus for the state university, expressways, and mass transit lines. He is known by many as the best mayor Chicago may ever have.

Bibliography:

Richard Joseph Daley Bibliography

Kennedy, E. “Himself.” Chicago, Times Books. 1978.

Kessler, Ron. “The FBI: Inside the Worlds Most Powerful Law Enforcement Agency.” New York, Simon &Schuster. 1993.

Royko, M. “Boss” Chicago, Plume Press. 1971.

Sullivan, F. “Legend, Richard J. Daley of Chicago.” New York, Printers. 1989.

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