Jane Byrne, Chicago's 1st female mayor, dies

I'm surprised this hasn't been mentioned here yet.....

Jane Byrne, Chicago's 1st female mayor, dies

November 14, 2014, 6:18 PM Last updated: Friday, November 14, 2014, 6:25 PM

CHICAGO (AP) — Jane Byrne became part of Chicago history when she was elected its first female mayor. She became part of city lore because of how she won: beating an incumbent who voters thought had bungled the reaction to a blizzard that paralyzed the streets.

Byrne was a political novice when she overcame Richard J. Daley's powerful political machine in 1979 for her improbable win over Mayor Michael Bilandic. Byrne, who brought festivals and filmmakers to Chicago during a single term filled with upheaval at City Hall, never held elected office again.

She died Friday at age 81 at a hospice in Chicago, said her daughter, Kathy.

Byrne, who remains Chicago's only female mayor, was branded with nicknames such as "Calamity Jane" as she speedily fired and hired people in such top jobs as police superintendent and press secretary.

"It was chaos," Byrne herself acknowledged in a 2004 Chicago Tribune story, attributing many of the problems to her wresting power from the old-boy Democratic machine that had ruled the city for decades. "Like the spaghetti in a pressure cooker, it was all over the ceiling."

But Byrne was also credited with changing the feel of the city. She started the popular Taste of Chicago festival and initiated open-air farmers' markets.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/jane-byrne-chicago-s-1st-female-mayor-dies-1.1134140