New book examines the legacy of Mayor Richard M. Daley, with successes and scandals alike
CHICAGO (CBS) -- For 22 years, Mayor Richard M. Daley ran Chicago from his fifth-floor office in City Hall—always making sure Chicago was the proverbial "city that works."
A new book, "The Daley Show," examines the retired mayor's legacy—from successes and scandals to clout and conflicts. The book was written by Forrest Claypool—who served as Daley's chief of staff and as the head of several city agencies.
Claypool said he wrote the book because of how much the city changed with Mayor Daley at the helm. Daley served from 1989 until 2011—a year longer than his father, Mayor Richard J. Daley.
"I think his mayoralty was absolutely transformative—and a remarkable transformation of a city that in 1989 as an 'economic invalid;' a city on the brink that no one thought would turn around," Claypool said, "and so people have forgotten that, and they've forgotten the lessons of what makes great municipal governments—and that's something we should not forget."
The book is not simply a volume praising Daley. Claypool noted that it is a warts-and-all book—which addresses scandals, torture in the Chicago Police Department, and other issues that reflected negatively on the city during Daley's time in office.
"But I think overall, the 22 ye4ars of his reign was a remarkable turnaround of a great metropolis, and I think it's important to understand the lessons of that," Claypool said.
Claypool did not interview Daley himself for the book—which was a strategic move.
"I deliberately didn't interview him, because I didn't want it to be his story. It's not his version of history," Claypool said. "It's drawn from the public record—and most importantly, from the recollections and observations of all the myriad people who worked for him over the years; worked against him—civic leaders, activists, businesspeople."
The book is propelled by the perspective, stories, and behind-the-curtain anecdotes provided by these various sources, Claypool said.
Claypool noted that when Daley left office in 2011—a time when the aftermath of the Great Recession remained an issue—Daley's own popularity was at a low. This was in part because of a controversial decision a few years earlier in which the city entered into a $1.157 billion, 75-year contract with a private firm operated by Morgan Stanley to take over the city's parking meters.
As a result of the decision, parking meter rates jumped across the city with built-in increases for the ensuing five years.
But Claypool said in the 13 years since Daley left office, life in Chicago has grown worse in many ways that are widely recognized.
"A lot of the great things he's done have eroded. I mean, the quality of life, the jobs and businesses that have left the city, you know, the Board of Education—students and families are leaving in droves, record lows after his turnaround, and they're reversing all those reforms. Violent crime is back—endemic—when he drove it to 40-year lows after inheriting something very similar to what we have today," Claypool said. "So I think if we're going to turn around great cities and have healthy cities, let's look at history."
Claypool noted that the city was facing similar challenges when Daley took office 35 years ago.
"The first thing Mayor Daley did was he looked at the quality of life, because he knows that businesses won't move here, people won't move here if there's not a quality of life. And so the first thing he did was he eradicated graffiti. He moved homeless encampments into shelters. He tore down housing that was dilapidated, and emphasized what we called housekeeping issues—beautifying the city," Claypool said, "and then that allowed him to do the more complicated things later."
Claypool said those more complicated things included turning around the Chicago Public Schools, having Chicago Housing Authority projects that Claypool called a "cancer on the city" torn down and replaced with mixed-income communities, building Millennium Park, and expanding O'Hare International Airport.
"It started with those basics that we've forgotten about that has to happen first as you then go to the more difficult things," Claypool said.
Claypool is also a former head of the Chicago Transit Authority, which itself has been making negative headlines about crime and disorder recently. He said turning the situation around at the CTA would involve going back to the basics too.
"When I was at the CTA, we installed thousands of security cameras, for example, and used that with police officers monitoring them to attack crime, so I think, again, the sense of safety—just as Daley emphasized these sort of housekeeping issues to make people safe in the community, similarly on the CTA, I think you start there first," Claypool said.
Claypool was Daley's first chief of staff when the mayor took office in 1989. Four years later, Claypool became the chief executive officer and superintendent of the Chicago Park District—where he was credited with dramatically reducing costs and spending and expanding programs for families. Claypool returned as Daley's chief of staff in 1996, and then in 2002 was elected as a commissioner on the Cook County Board—a position in which he served two terms.
Claypool also served as chief of staff to Daley's successor, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and as CTA president and chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools during Emanuel's time in the Mayor's office.
"The Daley Show" was published by the University of Illinois Press, and features a foreword by political consultant and former senior presidential advisor David Axelrod.