Hizzoner – Richard J. Daley, The Mayor Of Chicago

Richard J. Daley was the Mayor of Chicago for 21 years.

The Legacy Of Richard J. Daley

His legacy is complex and his accomplishments controversial, substantial, and long-lasting.

A poll of professional historians named Richard J. Daley as the sixth most effective mayor in the history of the United States.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. saw Mayor Daley as the embodiment of segregation and racism.

Richard J. Daley’s methods were not democratic but White Chicago grew and prospered under his leadership. Richard J. Daley’s early life reads like a Horatio Alger story. He was the grandson of a butcher. He was the son of a sheet metal worker.  Richard J. Daley sold newspapers, worked in the stockyards, and made deliveries. He worked his way through school during the depression, taking night classes to learn clerical skills and then a law degree.

He worked his way up through the Chicago political machine, beginning as a Democratic Precinct captain. He was actually elected as a Republican to the state legislature, but quickly switched parties. He worked with then Gov. Adlai Stevenson and worked his way up through the ranks of the Democratic Party. His election as mayor cemented his power in Chicago. Whether he was overseeing the massive building projects in downtown Chicago, fighting against the efforts of Martin Luther King to integrate the city, battling protesters at the 1968 Democratic convention, or building a party infrastructure that would last well beyond his lifetime, Richard J. Daley led an extraordinary life.

In this fast-paced multimedia presentation, we will delve into the personal background and relationships of Chicago’s Mayor Richard J. Daley. We will look at his complex, controversial, and contradictory reputation for effectiveness and repression. You will come away with a deeper understanding – if not a different opinion – of Mayor Richard J. Daley.