Jane M. Byrne
| Jane Byrne | |
|---|---|
Byrne official Mayor of Chicago portrait, 1979.
|
|
| 40th Mayor of Chicago | |
|
In office April 16, 1979 – April 29, 1983 |
|
| Preceded by | Michael Bilandic |
| Succeeded by | Harold Washington |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Jane Margaret Burke May 24, 1933 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | November 14, 2014 (aged 81) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Resting place | Interment Calvary Cemetery Evanston, Illinois |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) |
William Byrne (m. 1956–59)(his death) Jay McMullen (m. 1978–92) (his death) |
| Children | Katherine C. Byrne |
| Alma mater |
St. Mary of the Woods Barat College |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Jane Margaret Byrne (née Burke; May 24, 1933 – November 14, 2014) was an American politician who served as the 40th Mayor of Chicago from April 16, 1979 until April 29, 1983. Byrne won the Chicago mayoral election on April 3, 1979, becoming the first and, to date, only female mayor of Chicago; the second largest city in the United States at the time. It was also the largest U.S. city to have had a female mayor to date. Prior to her tenure as mayor, Byrne served as commissioner of the Chicago's consumer affairs department from 1968 until 1977, which made her the first woman to be a part of then–mayor Richard J. Daley's cabinet.
Byrne was born Jane Margaret Burke on May 24, 1933 at John B. Murphy Hospital in the Lake View neighborhood on the north side of Chicago, Illinois to Katherine Marie Burke (née Nolan), a stay at home wife and Edward Patrick Burke, vice president of Inland Steel. Raised on the city's north side, Byrne graduated from Saint Scholastica High School and attended St. Mary of the Woods for her freshman year of college. Byrne later transferred to Barat College, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and biology in 1965. Byrne entered politics to volunteer in John F. Kennedy's campaign for president in 1960. During that campaign she first met then Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley. After meeting Daley, he appointed her to several positions beginning in 1964 with a job in the city's Head Start program. In June 1965, she was promoted and worked with the Chicago Committee of Urban Opportunity. In 1968, Byrne was appointed head of the City of Chicago's consumer affairs department. In 1972, Byrne served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention (DNC) and chairperson of the DNC resolutions committee in 1973. Byrne was appointed co–chairperson of the Cook County Democratic Central Committee by Daley, despite the rejection by the majority of Democratic leaders in 1975. The committee ousted Byrne shortly after Daley's death in late 1976. Shortly thereafter, Bryne accused the newly appointed mayor Michael Bilandic of being unfair to citizens of the city by placing a 12% increase on cab–fare which Byrne felt was the result of a "backroom deal". Byrne was fired from her post of head of consumer affairs by Bilandic shortly after he was made aware of her charges against him in April 1977.
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