Richard M. Daley

Richard M. Daley
Daley in 2006
54th Mayor of Chicago
In office April 24, 1989 – May 16, 2011
Deputy	Terry Gabinski Bernard Stone
Preceded by	Eugene Sawyer
Succeeded by	Rahm Emanuel
54th President of the United States Conference of Mayors
In office 1996–1997
Preceded by	Norm Rice
Succeeded by	Paul Helmke
State's Attorney of Cook County
In office December 1, 1980 – April 24, 1989
Preceded by	Bernard Carey
Succeeded by	Cecil Partee
Member of the Illinois Senate from the 23rd district
In office January 10, 1973 – December 1, 1980
Preceded by	Edward Nihill
Succeeded by	Timothy F. Degnan
Personal details
Born	Richard Michael Daley (1942-04-24) April 24, 1942 (age 82) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Margaret Ann Corbett ​ ​ (m. 1972; died 2011)​
Children	4, including Patrick
Parent(s)	Richard J. Daley (father) Eleanor Daley (mother)
Relatives	John P. Daley (brother) William M. Daley (brother)
Education	Providence College DePaul University (BA, JD)
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This article is part of a series about Richard M. Daley
Daley family Electoral history Tenure in Illinois State Senate Tenure as Cook County State's Attorney 1980 election 1984 election 1988 election Mayoralty Elections 1983 primary 1989 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2002–03 renovation of Soldier Field 2016 Summer Olympics bid Block 37 Demolition and closure of Meigs Field Hired Truck Program Crisis management Establishment of CDFM Chicago flood 1995 Chicago heat wave Events hosted by city 1994 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony 1996 DNC 2006 Gay Games Law enforcement and crime Civil unrest Chicago Bulls Championship riots CPD CAPS CLEAR Operation Virtual Shield CPD torture allegations Graffiti Blasters Parks and recreation projects Chicago Riverwalk Navy Pier revamp Northernly Island Millennium Park Park Grill controversy Museum Campus Ping Tom Memorial Park Public schools Renaissance 2010 Takeover of CPS control Transit Establishment of CDOT O'Hare Airport modernization and reconfiguration CTA Orange Line CTA Pink Line 2003–04 Chicago Skyway rehab Unrealized transit proposals Clinton Street Subway Airport Express Mid-City Transitway Lake Calumet Airport Privatization of Midway Airport
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Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th^[1] mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh term. At 22 years, his was the longest tenure in Chicago mayoral history, surpassing the 21-year mayoralty of his father, Richard J. Daley.

As Mayor, Daley took over the Chicago Public Schools, developed tourism, oversaw the construction of Millennium Park, increased environmental efforts and the rapid development of the city's central business district downtown and adjacent near North, near South and near West sides. He also approved expansion of city workers' benefits to their partners regardless of gender, and advocated for gun control.

Daley received criticism when family, personal friends, and political allies disproportionately benefited from city contracting. He took office in a city with regular annual budget surpluses and left the city with massive structural deficits. His budgets ran up the largest deficits in Chicago history. A national leader in privatization, he temporarily reduced budgetary shortfalls by leasing and selling public assets to private corporations, but this practice removed future sources of revenue, contributing to the city's near insolvency at the end of his tenure. Police brutality was a recurring issue during his mayorship.