Jane Margaret Byrne (born May 24, 1934) was the first female Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. She served from April 16, 1979 to April 29, 1983. As of 2005, no other woman has been a mayor of a larger American city. May 24 is the 144th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (145th in leap years). ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Mayors of Chicago, Illinois, Current or Previous The mayoral term in Chicago was two years from 1837 through 1907, at which time it was lengthened to four years. ... Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Official website: http://egov. ... April 16 is the 106th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (107th in leap years). ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... April 29 is the 119th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (120th in leap years). ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Early political career

Byrne first entered politics to help John F. Kennedy get elected President in 1960. It was during that campaign that she first met Mayor Richard J. Daley. In 1968, Daley appointed her head of consumer affairs in Chicago. Byrne held that post until fired by mayor Michael Bilandic in 1977. After her firing, Byrne launched a campaign to unseat Bilandic in the 1979 mayoral primary. At first, political observers believed she had little chance of winning. However, a series of freak snowstorms in January paralyzed the city and caused Bilandic to be seen as ineffective at running the city. This helped give Byrne the edge she needed to win. She was elected as a mayor after Michael Bilandic. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to as John F. Kennedy, JFK, or Jack Kennedy, was the 35th President of the United States. ... For the pop band, see Presidents of the United States of America. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... Richard Joseph Daley (May 15, 1902 – December 20, 1976) was an Irish-American politician who served as Chairman of the Cook County Democratic Central Committee from 1953 and Mayor of Chicago from 1955, retaining both positions until his death in 1976. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Official website: http://egov. ... Michael Anthony Bilandic (born: February 13, 1923; died: January 16, 2002; buried in St. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... This page refers to the year 1979. ...

Term as Mayor

Although she was a product of the Daley political machine, Byrne positioned herself as a reformer in her first campaign. She won support from "lakefront liberals" and African-Americans in addition to many more conservative whites on the city's north side. Byrne made some progressive moves as mayor, such as hiring the first black school superintendent, and she was the first Mayor to recognize the gay community. However, she was ultimately a disappointment to many of these reform-oriented constituencies. At the same time she never won over many old-guard "Daley Democrats" with whom she contended for control of the fading Cook County Democratic Party organization. As a result her coalition was an unstable mix of largely incompatible elements and she was ultimately unable to consolidate her position. A political machine is an unofficial system of political organization based on patronage, the spoils system, and behind-the-scenes control within the structure of a representative democracy. ... In politics, the term liberal refers to: an adherent of the ideology of liberalism or a state or quality of this ideology. ...

Byrne's political tactics as mayor ranged from modern media politics to largely unsuccessful attempts to play boss in the manner of the elder Daley. She made a much publicized move to live (however briefly) in an apartment in the Cabrini-Green housing projects, to highlight efforts to eliminate crime in the area. She endorsed Senator Edward Kennedy for President, but could not stop President Jimmy Carter from winning the Illinois Democratic Primary. She was able to replace Chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party, County Board President George Dunne, a Daley loyalist, with her ally Alderman Edward Vrdolyak. However, her attempt to block the election of Richard M. Daley, the son of her late mentor, to the prominent position of Cook County States' Attorney (chief local prosecutor) in 1980 failed. 1983 ai lol iki huhbs yzu siud ja inikdum suydma duia dkm ms jkoiedm kuouidm? kdo Cabrini-Green is one of the most notorious and infamous housing projects in the world. ... Edward Kennedy Edward Moore Ted Kennedy, (born February 22, 1932, in Brookline, Massachusetts) is a Democratic U.S. senator from Massachusetts. ... For the submarine, see USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23). ... Edward Vrdolyak (pr. ... Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) has been Mayor of Chicago since 1989. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX in Roman) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

Later career

Byrne was narrowly defeated in the 1983 Democratic primary for Mayor by Harold Washington. The younger Daley ran a close third, splitting the white vote with Byrne and allowing Washington to win the Democratic primary with just 36% of the vote. Washington went on to win the general election in a racially-polarized contest. Byrne ran against Washington again in the 1987 primary, but was defeated. She ran one more major campaign, a failed bid in the 1988 Democratic Primary for Cook County Circuit Court Clerk, although she was endorsed by her former opponent Washington, who called her "Chicago's beauty," to which she responded, "Oh, my," and Mayor Washington replied, "That ain't blarney, lady." She also ran against the younger Mayor Daley in 1991, but by this time Byrne was very much a marginal figure. Daley's chief rival in that race was Alderman Danny Davis, a black politician from the West Side who himself did not pose an especially forceful challenge. Harold Lee Washington (April 15, 1922-November 25, 1987) was a lawyer, legislator and the first African-American Mayor of Chicago, Illinois serving from 1983 until his death in 1987. ... Several people have been named Danny Davis: Danny K. Davis is a U.S. Congressman from Illinois Danny Davis (wrestler) is the professional wrestler who trained Brock Lesnar Danny Davis (country musician) won a 1970 Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid...

Byrne now lives in the same apartment building she lived in since the 1970's with her second husband, Jay McMullen, a former writer for newspapers. Byrne has one grandchild, Willie. Her daughter, Kathy, is a lawyer with a Chicago firm. Her book, My Chicago (ISBN 0-8101-2087-9), was published in 1992, and treats on the subject of her life prior to, and including, her political career.