Why I’ll Miss Mayor Daley
As his final term comes to an end, I realize how much I’ll miss Mayor Richard M. Daley. Whether you agree with his politics or not, I think there are two big reasons he’ll be missed once he leaves office as Chicago’s longest-serving mayor.
First is that he speaks his mind. No one can ever accuse Mayor Daley of being over-trained when it comes to media relations. I’ll never forget something that happened many, many years ago. (I’ll date myself here with this memory, but here goes). A group of senior gang leaders wanted to meet with the Mayor. They wanted face time because they called a cease-fire and no one had been killed in days. The Mayor said — as only he could — something like, “Why would I meet with them to thank them for not doing something they shouldn’t be doing in the first place?” What media-trained Mayor says that? Usually you get something much more polished and politically correct from elected officials. With Mayor Daley, you get whatever is on his mind at that moment. You can say it’s because he’s not running for re-election, but you know that’s not true. He has a history of saying what he’s thinking.
Second, he loves his family. Other cities had mistresses and personal scandals, but we never worried about that in Chicago. Does anyone else remember the story of a certain NYC mayor who had to sleep on the couch once his wife found out he was having an affair with his nurse? It would never have happened in Chicago. You can see how much Mayor Daley loves his wife, Maggie Daley, by the look in his eyes. He dotes on her like it’s still their first date. He had tears in his eyes when she was presented with a tulip named after her. You can see how much he loves his children and grandchildren by the way he speaks of them. Oh, I know you are thinking there are plenty of other scandals to talk about, but a “bimbo-eruption” was never going to happen with Mayor Daley.
I know we’ll have plenty of adventures with Mayor-elect Emmanuel, but I will still miss Mayor Daley. I hope he and Mrs. Daley have a long, healthy, enjoyable retirement.
Shari writes about all things Chicago and more at Two Times the Fun. Photo courtesy of Stock Exchange.
No related posts.
Category: Chicago, Community, New Posts, Uncategorized
I agree – I love that he speaks him mind. I’ll also miss that disheveled, needs a hair cut look from his press conferences. In a way it made me feel good that he was too busy running the city to spend much time on self pampering.
Totally agree. I’ll miss him, too.
Great post!