Byrne, Jane M.

Jane Byrne (1934-) often is viewed as someone who relied on gimmicks and publicity stunts to make a mark on the city of Chicago. Her legacy is far more than what is commonly known of her, however. A lifelong Chicagoan, she was born to Edward and Margaret Burke on Chicago's far northwest side on March 24, 1934. She married William Byrne, a Marine aviator, who was killed not long after the birth of their only child.

Her first position in Chicago politics was when she was appointed to the position of Consumer Sales Commissioner under the powerhouse of the Chicago political machine led by Richard J. Daley in 1968. Her appointment was initially seen by many as patronage for her work on Daley's previous campaigns, as well as a response to complaints that Daley did little to cater to women and minorities within his administration. Because of her upper-class upbringing, she often did not have to endure the gladhanding that many other mayors had to go through. This circumvention of the system allowed her to think differently, but some saw it as an unorthodox way of thinking that set a bad precedent for the future.

Her chance at the mayorship of Chicago occurred when Daley's successor, Michael Bilandic, failed to get the streets cleaned following one of Chicago's infamous snowstorms. By the time of the March 1979 Democratic Primary (effectively the election of the mayor, since the last Republican mayor was William “Big Bill” Thompson in 1929), Byrne ran as a mayor who would not let the basic needs of Chicago citizens go unheeded. She won that election and became mayor of Chicago in 1979, the first woman ever elected to the post, as well as one of the few women to hold sway in any major American city.

Byrne was beset by several major crises during her tenure. Several city employee groups (city transportation workers, teachers, and firefighters) went on strike in the first 2 years of her administration, often giving Chicago the reputation of the city that doesn't work. Her most famous publicity stunt centered around the plight of Chicago's minorities who lived in the city's housing projects, in particular the infamous, crimeridden Cabrini-Green project: She stayed in one of the apartments overnight, albeit in an apartment that was considered by the residents to be better than most.

[Page 114]Her legacy was one of division. By 1983, when her term was up, she was challenged by Richard M. Daley (the former mayor's son and heir apparent), as well as a former U.S. representative from Chicago, Harold Washington. Because little serious attention was paid to Washington, Daley and Byrne campaigned for many of the same votes, and in the end, Washington won the Democratic nomination. Byrne's term was seen by some as a blip on the political radar of Chicago. For others, however, her tenure was a small yet positive step for women in the United States.