Quality education, a knowledge-based economy, manufacturing utilizing high technology that can only be attained by a few countries. This type of knowledge comes from a good education beginning in early childhood and continuing through elementary school, high school, college, and technical and vocational opportunities. It’s our goal to provide the city with the best education opportunities in the world - says Mayor R. Daley

Mayor R. Daley

 My first memory of the name Daley dates back to my high school days. I lived in Chicago’s Northwest side, in a neighborhood called Cragin. It was a tempestuous time. Buildings in African-American neighborhoods were being burned in protest against racial inequality. The Vietnam War was raging, and the reaction to it split American society into two opposing camps. The mayor at the time was the father of the current mayor. Richard J. Daley was a conservative, yet was viewed as a friend of the hard-working, decent man. When Daley sent police against anti-war demonstrators, hundreds of young people were beaten up, and I was one of them. The experience prompted me to actively participate in further protests.

I remember feeling something that is difficult to describe or fully comprehend: I felt betrayed, as if a father hadn’t understood his children’s good intentions and deemed them belligerent and foreign. Even though I was disappointed in the mayor, I still hoped that a man of obvious wisdom, a man who cared for the city, would realize that he had misread the intention behind the anti-war protests.

After Richard J. Daley’s death, the city seemed to have lost its soul. Preexisting negative trends intensified. The city was physically disintegrating. The downtown area became gloomy and empty. There was none of the previously rich entertainment activity. Inner city neighborhoods were self-destructing: gangs multiplied; crime rate was on the rise; teachers were afraid to work in public schools. The suburbs, however, were flourishing. They were being filled by decent, peace-loving, and hard-working people. Relations between whites, blacks, and Latinos were contentious and tense.

The appearance of the late mayor’s son, Richard M. Daley, in political arena raised hopes that something might change. That something which would make Chicago truly Chicago.

Today, after nearly seventeen years in office, Richard M. Daley is probably the most popular mayor the city has ever had. I see in him the same care for people, the same willingness to take on responsibility and to set new direction, as that which had characterized his father. Richard M. Daley, however, is a thoroughly modern man, who appears to be perfectly at ease navigating the pitfalls of a complex and multidimensional world.

When a chance to conduct an interview with the mayor presented itself, I was very happy. There were questions I wanted to ask, and feelings I wanted to share.