About Me
I have earned a national reputation for my innovative, community-based programs to address education, public safety, neighborhood development and other challenges facing American cities. A former state senator and county prosecutor, I was elected Mayor on April 4, 1989, to complete the term of the late Harold Washington, and was re-elected in 1991, 1995, 1999 and 2003 by overwhelming margins.Frustrated with the performance of Chicago's schools, I assumed responsibility for the Chicago Public Schools in 1995. My new management team closed a $1.8 billion deficit; made homework mandatory; ended social promotion of underperforming students; improved school safety; greatly expanded summer school, after-school and early childhood education programs; and invested $4 billion in capital improvements.Recently, I have pushed especially hard to improve the teaching of reading, increase parental involvement in education and expand after-school and summer programs, as well as early childhood education. Student scores on standardized tests have risen consistently since 1995 and have passed national norms in some areas.Under my leadership, Chicago's community policing program also became a national model, with beat officers working with City agencies and residents to solve problems that foster crime. The police department added 1,600 officers, launched an aggressive anti-gang program and seized and destroyed 10,000 to 15,000 illegal weapons each year, more than any other city. Chicago's crime rate has dropped every year since 1992.My focus on quality-of-life concerns has led to greater emphasis on the delivery of basic services, from removing graffiti and deteriorating buildings to creating more green space and a citywide recycling plan. Since I have become mayor, the City has planted more than 400,000 trees, created 100 school campus parks, built 68 miles of landscaped street medians and spurred the construction of rooftop gardens on major buildings, including City Hall. I have organized U.S. and Canadian mayors to protect the Great Lakes.In 2004, I opened Millennium Park, the most ambitious public-private undertaking in Chicago's history. Constructed over railroad tracks and parking lots in downtown Chicago, the widely acclaimed showplace of architecture and the arts features a spectacular band shell designed by Frank Gehry; a popular reflecting sculpture designed by Anish Kapoor; an interactive fountain designed by Jaume Plensa; a garden designed by Kathryn Gustafson; a theater for music and dance; restaurant and ice rink.Under my leadership, Navy Pier has been renovated and turned into Chicago's most popular tourist attraction. McCormick Place has been expanded and Soldier Field has been rehabilitated as part of a plan that added 17 acres of park land.The City and its sister agencies have invested more than $11 billion in capital improvements since I have become mayor. This includes 36 new schools and 72 additions, adding capacity for more than 40,000 students; street, sidewalk, bridge, sewer and other infrastructure improvements; more than 120 new acres of parkland; new ice rinks, recreation centers and swimming pool upgrades; and 41 new or renovated branch libraries.Since I took office, the City has invested more than $3 billion toward more than 100,000 affordable housing units and has established aggressive plans to rebuild public housing, extend housing affordability, and end homelessness in Chicago. The City has tripled the number of available beds for the homeless and established the largest locally funded rental subsidy program in the nation. Under me, Chicago was the first city in the country to enact legislation to combat predatory lending. Nationally, I have been a strong voice for the preservation of affordable housing, and have led efforts to obtain more resources for housing at state and federal levels.To improve the business climate, I trimmed business taxes streamlined licensing processes for small businesses; created a business assistance program to support local companies and spur neighborhood development; and offered financial incentives to attract and retain employers.A landmark ordinance I introduced in 1990 guarantees 25% of all City contracts to minority-owned businesses (MBE) and 5% to women-owned businesses (WBE). The City has surpassed those percentages every year since. I also have increased the number and percentage of minorities in the City's workforce, created an Office of Sexual Harassment to investigate complaints and stiffened penalties for hate crimes.By turning over some 40 City functions to private contractors and holding City employees more accountable, I have saved taxpayers more than $50 million a year and held City-levied property tax increases to slightly over 1% a year, far below the rate of inflation. The nation's three major rating agencies rate Chicago's credit among the highest of any city.In 1997, I was named Municipal Leader of the Year by American City and County magazine; a Public Official of the Year by Governing magazine; and Politician of the Year by Library Journal. In 1996, I headed the U.S. Conference of Mayors. In 1999, I received the Education Excellence Award from the National Conference for Community and Justice, the Public Service Leadership Award from the National Council for Urban Economic Development, the J. Sterling Morton Award from the National Arbor Day Foundation, the Keystone Award from the American Architectural Foundation and the Martin Luther King/Robert F. Kennedy Award from the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence/Education Fund To End Handgun Violence.I was born in Chicago April 24, 1942, the fourth of seven children and the eldest son of the late Mayor Richard J. Daley and his wife Eleanor. I graduated from De La Salle Academy and earned undergraduate and law degrees from DePaul University and began my public service career in 1969 when I was elected to the Illinois Constitutional Convention. From 1972 to 1980 I served in the Illinois Senate, where I led the fight to remove the sales tax on food and medicine, sponsored landmark mental health legislation and established rights for nursing home residents.I was elected State's Attorney of Cook County in 1980. I pushed successfully for tougher state narcotics laws and raised the conviction rate dramatically. I helped overhaul Illinois' antiquated rape laws to obtain more convictions and developed programs to combat drunk driving, domestic violence and child support delinquencies. Re-elected States Attorney in 1984 and 1988, I was the first Cook County official to sign a decree eliminating politically motivated hiring and firing. My wife Maggie are the parents of three children, Nora, Patrick and Elizabeth.The above is a biography of Mayor Daley. This myspace is NOT his official page - Let's hope he doesn't spend his office time dinking around myspace like the rest of us chumps.
