Richard J. Daley: The Mayoral Career

Richard J. Daley was mayor of Chicago from April 20, 1955 until his death on December 20, 1976. Among his many accomplishments was the founding of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), which is now the home of the Richard J. and Eleanor Daley Archive in the Special Collections at the UIC Library. In my role as Exhibits and Publications Coordinator at UIC, I researched materials from the (then newly created) archive and oversaw the digitization of film reels that the late mayor had acquired throughout his long political career. As part of a citywide celebration to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the late mayor’s first inauguration, I curated an exhibit at the Richard J. Daley Center in downtown Chicago. I also worked with the UIC Executive Vice Provost, the Office of the UIC Historian, library staff and outside consultants to plan the Inaugural Richard J. Daley Urban Forum, an interdisciplinary symposium about contemporary urban policy issues.