Jane Byrne, former Chicago mayor, dies at 80

CHICAGO -- Former Mayor Jane Byrne, the first and only woman to serve as mayor of Chicago, has died.

Byrne's daughter, Kathy Byrne, has told family friends her mother died at 10 a.m., resting comfortably at her North Side home. She was 80 years old.

CBS Chicago reports the trailblazing Byrne was never dull or uninteresting, and fought right up until her death.

Byrne had entered hospice care this week, and died of complications from a stroke she suffered in January 2013. Her declining health kept her out of the public eye for the past couple years, except when the Circle Interchange was renamed the Jane Byrne Interchange. The City Council also recently voted to rename the plaza outside the Old Chicago Water Tower after Byrne, but a formal renaming ceremony was not held before her death.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel said, with Byrne's death, the city "has lost a great trailblazer."

"Mayor Byrne was a Chicago icon who lived a remarkable life of service to our city," Emanuel said in a written statement. "The thoughts and prayers of the people of Chicago are with her daughter Kathy and her many friends at this difficult time."

Byrne was mayor of Chicago from 1979 to 1983.