After 21 years and six terms of serving as Chicago’s mayor, Richard Daley announced on Sept. 7th at a City Hall news conference that he will not be running for reelection in 2011. 68-year-old Daley said, “It’s time…for me, it’s time for Chicago to move on.”
Daley gave little explanation calling this a “personal decision” that “just feels right.” He stated, “Improving Chicago has been the ongoing work of my life, and I have loved every minute of it. There has been no greater privilege or honor than serving as your mayor.”
After his speech, which lasted less than five minutes, Daley took no questions. His wife, Maggie, stood beside him, supporting herself with a crutch. Since 2002, Maggie has wrestled with metastatic breast cancer. Mayor Daley said, “I am ready with my family to begin the new phase of our lives.”
Living Truth 