On election night 2007, Richard M. Daley took the stage at Chicago's Hilton & Towers holding the hand of his cancer-surviving wife, Maggie, and ready to eclipse his father as the city's longest-serving mayor. What would his father, Richard J. Daley, who served 21 years, think about Daley winning a term that will take him to 22 years in office by 2011?

"I think my dad would be very proud of me," Daley said in an interview at the party. "So would my mom. And Kevin." Daley often mentions his son Kevin, who died of Spina Bifida at age 2 in 1981.

Daley's family has been through a lot during this term, with Maggie surviving breast cancer, Daley himself coming down with heart problems, his son Patrick joining the army to fight in Iraq, and his daughter Nora giving him two grandchildren.

Elected mayor of Chicago in 1989 to complete the term of Harold Washington, Daley stepped into his job with a name that carried high expectations. During his almost 20 years as mayor he has exceeded those expectations. He has earned a national reputation for his innovative, community-based programs to address education, public safety, neighborhood development and other challenges facing American cities. In fact, Daley "is widely viewed as the nation's top urban executive" (Time magazine, 2005). The former state senator and county prosecutor who has been re-elected five times by overwhelming margins, continues to improve the city, investing more than $3 billion toward more than 125,000 affordable housing units and establishing aggressive plans to rebuild public housing, extend affordability and end homelessness in Chicago.

He is also supporting the plan by Dublin-born Garrett Kelleher to build a 2,000-foot-high skyscraper in Chicago. The building, known as the Chicago Spire, with 150 floors, will stand taller than Chicago's Sears Tower as well as New York's upcoming Freedom Tower, to become North America's tallest free-standing structure and the world's tallest all-residential building. The Spire, which if completed as scheduled in 2011, will mark Daley's 22nd year in office.

His efforts to improve the city have most certainly paid off as the city of Chicago is currently favored by the U.S. Olympic Committee to host the 2016 Olympic Games. Still, all is not completely rosy for the mayor, and as the City undergoes an investigation into an allegedly fraudulent hiring system, Daley's office is coming under increased scrutiny.

Daley grew up on the South Side of Chicago, the fourth of seven children of the late Richard J. and his wife Eleanor. He holds a law degree from DePaul University and began his public service career in 1969 when he was elected to the Illinois Constitutional Convention. Mayor Daley lives in the South Loop neighborhood of Chicago with his wife. They have three children, Nora Daley Conroy, Patrick Daley and Elizabeth Daley.

Return to Top 100