- [Narrator] Coming up. - I hope I'll please you
and be a very good mayor. - [Narrator] She was a daughter of Chicago's democratic
political machine. - Jane was tough in
essentially an all-male domain. You had to be tough. - [Narrator] She bucked
the system and won. - So help me, God. - [Pastor] Congratulations,
Mayor Byrne. (audience applauding) - [Carol] It was horror. That this woman was going to
assume the desk of Mayor Daley? Not possible. - The first woman to lead
a major American city. That's a remarkable
accomplishment. - [Narrator] She promised
to fight for one Chicago, to fight anyone who
stood in her way. - I think your questions are
both insulting and stupid. Excuse me. - She did have
something to prove. - [Narrator] Until those
who brought her to power found a new hero. (all shouting) - Black folks felt that
they had elected this woman and she was totally
turning her back on them. - We want Washington! - [Narrator] And as
quickly as she took power, (playing upbeat
piano) she was gone. - That's it. (audience clapping) - [Narrator] Jane Byrne,
next on "Chicago Stories." - I don't wanna
insult you, Jane, but the women who
make it in politics are more masculine
than feminine. - [Oprah] Are you saying that
Jane Byrne is more masculine than feminine? A wife, a mother? - I think Jane Byrne is
a very aggressive woman. - [Oprah] You didn't
answer the question. - Well, I wouldn't want to
be married to Jane. Woo! - [Oprah] Why? Why? - Because she's pushy! Women who succeed in politics
are pushy, they're aggressive. - So are men. So are men. - Well, it's a man's game! - No, politics was
defined by the Greeks as the highest calling. And politics, and good
politicians, serve humanity. And it's for both sexes
and who can do the best job for humanity. (audience applauding) - She was mayor, what, 40
years ago? Think about that. - They say I'm
abrasive. I'm tough. I fight with people.
Well, they're right. - Think what that meant
at that day and age to have a woman doing
any of these things and accomplishing
all these things. - So many people didn't
believe it could be done. - [Carol] She was not afraid
of anybody or anything. And she made sure that
they knew she wasn't. - I believed in the
Kennedy philosophy, which said in government,
you must compromise. You don't compromise
your integrity. You don't compromise
your morality and you don't
compromise anything that would affect the
city of Chicago, ever. - We stand today on the
edge of a New Frontier; the frontier of the 1960s. - [Narrator] In 1960, a charming young senator
from Massachusetts lit up the country with
his presidential campaign. (crowd cheering) - [Carol] You could
believe in something. This whole dynamism
of John Kennedy and how he inspired the
young people of the country. It was amazing. I was working for the campaign and I had to go back to college. I said to mother, "I
wanna keep the job open." And she said, "Tell them
Janie's gonna take your place." - [Narrator] Janie was
Carol's older sister Jane. Her life had just been
turned upside down. Jane's husband, Bill,
a pilot in the Marines had been killed. - [Kathy] It's not that it
turned her life upside down. It's that it pulled
the floor out. She would've just, you
know, been a lawyer's wife, probably on the North Shore. She was devastated. - [Narrator] It
would take tough love to lift Jane Byrne
from her grief and restore her
sense of purpose. - Mother turned to her and said, "Go down there, blow
the stink off yourself. You need to get
out of this house." - [Narrator] Jane reluctantly
took her sister's place as secretary treasurer
of the Chicago office for Kennedy's campaign. - [Carol] And it was like a
fish to water. She loved it. And that's how that all started. (upbeat parade music) - [Reporter] In the
center of Chicago, where we have been watching America's greatest
political parade. - Kennedy was coming to
visit the headquarters. My mom wanted me to meet him. So she put me in a
little white dress and she pinned my dad's
Navy wings to my dress. He saw my wings and
came straight over. With that he said, "Why,
why don't we get a picture?" (camera flashing) I don't think I realized
until fairly recently that if you look at the
picture showing, you know, the scene with everyone
standing in this group of admiring men, standing in the background
is Richard J. Daley. - [Narrator] Richard J. Daley
was the mayor of Chicago, the powerful boss of its
Democratic political machine. - I would be at events
where I would see him. You know, I knew
he was the mayor and I was this
person, that's all. And then John Kennedy
invited Kathy and me to sit in the president's box
for the Army-Air Force game. - [Kathy] Daley was
one box over and again, he sees this woman with the kid sitting in the presidential box. Six months later, there was something at
Queen of All Saints. Daley comes by, so he comes
over, says to my mother, "What do you do when you do?" (laughing) And that's Daley-ese. Right? - [Narrator] Mayor
Daley was intrigued by the young Jane Byrne. She seemed to be in
all the right places with a who's who
of powerful people. Later that week, Daley's
secretary gave her a call. - So I went there and I
sat in his office and I, I felt very flattered. You know, here I am sitting
in Mayor Daley's office. And he said, "Are you interested
in government politics"? And I said, "I might be, yes." - [David] Daley built an extraordinary
political organization that was cobbled together
by patronage and spoils. Each ward had an
allotment of jobs. Those city workers were
faithful foot soldiers for the Democratic organization. - [Jane] And then the
next thing he said is, "People call it a
machine, you know? And it's no more a machine than General Motors
is a machine." "Why they have a structure
in an organization. And that's what we have." - [David] People on the ground administered to your problems. - Somebody told me you need
garbage cans. Is that right? - Yeah, - [Precinct Worker]
I'll get 'em for you. - And in exchange once
a year or twice a year, you'd give them your vote. - I'll be looking for 'em. - I'll be there. - Okay. - If a community didn't vote
for a mayor or his people, the alderman in that community wouldn't get really
good city services. It wasn't built on fairness. It was built on loyalty. - [Jane] He said,
"I just wondered. And if you wanted me to, to sort of look after
you or something, I, I would be very happy to." - [Narrator] Daley would help
this promising young woman in need of a job. But first, he tested
her allegiance. - [Jane] He said, "Are
you against the machine?" Now you have to understand, I was not prepared
for this conversation. And I said, "No, I, I don't have any grudges
against this organization." And he said, "Be a volunteer." So I went, became a volunteer. - [Narrator] Despite their
shared Irish-Catholic heritage, Daley and Byrne were hardly
cut from the same cloth. Like the two mayors before him, Daley hailed from
the South Side, blue-collar neighborhood
of Bridgeport. He was a man of few words,
no frills and old fashion. - Above all, I've been
blessed by all you men giving me an
opportunity, and women, to serve in this
great city of Chicago. (crowd clapping) - [Narrator] Jane Byrne,
however, was young, stylish, and filled with the promise
of Kennedy's America. She grew up in Sauganash
on the North Side. Her father was the vice
president of Inland Steel. - The strongest things
in our family were faith, our country and each other. That there was only one
person who could stop us from being whatever we wanted
to be, and that was ourselves. - [Narrator] On
Daley's suggestion, Jane Byrne traveled
throughout the wards as a Democratic Party volunteer. - He didn't have to worry that
she was gonna undermine him. He knew he could trust her. - [Narrator] She proved
herself a reliable cog in Daley's machine,
and he rewarded her with a job in the city's
anti-poverty program, The Committee on
Urban Opportunity. - [Carol] She really
liked the idea that she was helping people. - [Narrator] The work
was exposing Jane Byrne to a different side of Chicago. By the mid-60s, the second Great
Migration had brought more than half a million
African Americans from the Jim Crow
South to Chicago, looking for work and equality. This demographic shift
triggered a mass exodus of white residents
from the city. Mayor Daley knew
to stay in power, he needed to preserve his base. - [Daley] While we are
clearing the slums, we must prevent the
spread of blight into the other neighborhoods. - [Narrator] Up went a
slew of public housing to contain the black population. - It started off as, Hey, this is pretty nice to be
in this new development that, you know, it was
cheap construction. And so it was, you know,
it was due to fall apart. - [Narrator] Between
the overcrowding of neighborhood schools and
the scarcity of good jobs, the black community was fed up. Demanding more from City Hall. - [Jacky] The lack of
access to education, to jobs, that was
starting to fester. We had already had
the season of riots starting with Dr. King, which
raised a lot of consciousness. - The African American community went from being the
most reliable part
of the Daley machine to the most disaffected. - [Narrator] As
Jane Byrne listened to the frustrations of
the black community, she stopped short of blaming
her mentor, Mayor Daley. - [Carol] She believed
in government. It's
not a bad thing. Politics is the
art of compromise. It's truly an
honorable position. - [Narrator] Mayor
Daley rewarded Jane
Byrne again in 1968. This time making her the first
ever woman in his cabinet. - [Carol] He needed to
diversify his government. And Janie Byrnes, as he called
her, was the one who did. - [Daley] Great women
too, like Janie Byrnes, leader of women. - [Carol] She wasn't
content to be a token and she didn't plan
to be a failure. - [Narrator] She held
an obscure office, Commissioner of Sales,
Weights, and Measures. But Jane Byrne took
the job seriously, calling out corruption,
wherever she saw it. - And I would like
them to look into it and see how much crops are
still coming out of Brazil. They tell us nothing. - [Narrator] Her diligence
wasn't appreciated. - Before you enforce an
ordinance against a business, let's say, better find out
who's clout that business has. - [Carol] In Chicago, it's almost been an
unabashed kind of graft. Somebody gets a
job. I get power. I get to hand off
the job. I get money. I have a law firm, oh, by the
way, I get a little business. - [Kathy] Those are
the unwritten rules. And if you go in without
knowing any of that, you're gonna get
a lot of backlash. The cloak has been removed and she is seeing
what is going on here. And it's not pretty. Daley was getting all kinds
of complaints about her. She's not playing ball. And he backed her up
a hundred-percent. - He protected her and he
loved her, and she loved him. It was devastating when he died. - [Narrator] On
December 20th, 1976, Mayor Richard J. Daley
suffered a massive heart attack and died in office. At the age of 74. - [Reporter] He had been the
mayor for nearly 22 years, as much of a fixture and seemingly almost as
enduring as the old Water Tower. - He controlled everything.
He controlled the city. He controlled the party.
So, you know, it was, oh my gosh, who's on first? And there was chaos. - [Narrator] According to
the line of succession, Daley's replacement was
supposed to be president Pro Tem of the City Council. And that was Wilson Frost, a black alderman from
the Far South Side. - When news broke that
Mayor Daley had died, the Mayor's aides
and the police chief seized the Mayor's office and would not even
allow Wilson Frost to come on the fifth floor. - [Jacky] And that really
enraged the black community. You know, what is it? You know, this guy,
because he's black, he can't be acting mayor? - [Narrator] After a week
of closed-door negotiations, the Council named their
pick for acting mayor; Daley's Chief of Finance. 11th ward alderman,
Michael Bilandic. - Michael Bilandic was the
most unlikely politician ever. He really was like the
bookkeeper in a Dickens novel or something. And quiet, sort of shy. - In the cold days of
January and February, I took a hard look at
our administration. - [David] Would have
been impossible, even for someone of
prodigious political skills to follow Richard J. Daley,
who was such a Colossus. Bilandic was hardly that. - [Narrator] Despite the
upheaval at City Hall, Commissioner Jane Byrne kept
advocating for consumers. Fighting corruption
wherever it lived. Even at the highest level. - [Reporter] Last Tuesday,
the bombshell hit. - We have evidence tonight that Mayor Bilandic may have
been involved personally in some deceitful,
perhaps even fraudulent, shenanigans at City Hall. - [Narrator] Byrne
accused some aldermen of greasing a 12%
cab fare increase. - What I mean by greased is that it wasn't gonna
make any difference what anybody said.
It was going through. And it was coming from
the top, and that was it. - And it was the two Eddies: Ed Vrdolyak and Eddie
Burke. 10th ward, 14th ward. - Byrne called them
"The Evil Cabal." A group of City Council members who she claimed had rigged
the system in their favor. - [Carol] They were
the parliamentarians in a kind of political
patronage world. And Jane Byrne focused on them - [Reporter] The
controversy became known as Chicago's Taxigate. Bilandic retaliated - I have also this morning
terminated Jane Byrne as an employee of the city of
Chicago, effective at once. - [Reporter] At her
City Hall office, she found her belongings packed. She called the dismissal
cheap and uncouth. - Film crews are in her
office as she's packing up. - I had to go through a box to find a picture
of my own daughter. - [Kathy] People paid
attention to her. And I think that if she
had been John Byrne, Commissioner of
Weights and Measures, it wouldn't have been
that big a story. - I'd like to ask you if
you have any intentions of going back to
work for City Hall? - I would hope one day to go
back to work for City Hall. - [Narrator] Some people
shared that sentiment. - There seemed to be a movement. People are saying,
you know, go for it. I didn't even know
what it meant. And all of a sudden, the only plausible thing
to go for was mayor. - When Jane Byrne announced
she was running for mayor, it wasn't heavily heralded. You know, she was
somebody with no chance. - [Narrator] David Axelrod
was a young reporter for the Chicago Tribune. - Was paying my dues
and every election, they would take me off
of nights for a few weeks to cover a candidate. And it was almost
always the candidate that they thought would lose. Jane Byrne was
running for mayor. She was considered
a hopeless underdog. And therefore I was
assigned to her. - [Don] Toward Christmas, my friends invited me
to a holiday party. To my surprise, they locked me in the
kitchen with Jane Byrne. She sort of led me in, "What do you think?
You sure know a lot." And flattered the
hell out of me, and I'm subject to flattery. She finally said, "Uh,
uh, would you help me"? And I said, "Yeah, okay." - [Narrator] A well-regarded
political strategist, Don Rose had guided many
candidates to success. - [David] Don, who
was an old lefty, had a very close relationship
with the black community. Understood the black community, was Dr. King's press secretary during his march
in Chicago in 1966. This was like Don
Rose's greatest dream; to topple the
Democratic machine. - The city still does not work
for any kid in public school. It doesn't work for black
people by and large. It doesn't work
for Latino people. It doesn't work for poor people. - [Narrator] Byrne and
Rose honed a message that spoke to communities
who were hungry for change. - You know, you're just looking
for a little bit of service, a little bit of improvement. - Everywhere I go, I
hear about new problems. Nothing seems to be
working the way it used to. I think it's time to get
Chicago working again for you. - Absolutely. I
was for Jane Byrne. She was speaking truth to power. She had the right rhetoric, man. She was putting it out there. And I think that excited people. - The drumbeat of
her campaign was, "We're gonna fight
these bastards. We are going to turn
this government around. We're gonna reform Chicago." She was a woman. She was different. Finally, we
are going to get some change. - [Narrator] With
Don Rose at the helm, the Byrne campaign pointed
to its shiniest asset, the candidate herself. - [Don] We made it a
battle of personalities. - I really need the help. And if you'll tell
all your friends. - Jane Byrne was an
outgoing personality with an Irish affability. Bilandic was a very smart guy. He had some good ideas, but
he was a very bland character. - [Narrator] Byrne's new
husband, Jay McMullen served as their defacto
press secretary. - [Kathy] He was a
good sounding board. He had tons and tons
of media contacts, because he had been a reporter
for City Hall for so long. He knew everybody. Jay was actually the voiceover
in all of the commercials. - [Jay] If you wonder, what kind of mayor
Jane Byrne would make, hear the words of the late
mayor, Richard J. Daley. "We appointed Jane Byrne. She was one of the most
capable women I met. Co-chairman of the Democratic
Party of the city of Chicago." - Never used the
word "reformer." Never used the word "woman." - [Jay] As a member of
Mayor Daley's cabinet, she learned how to
make Chicago work. Jane Byrne can get this
city working again. - [Carol] Don Rose tried
to focus her message. And as that focus
was being achieved, the snow began to fall. And it snowed and it
snowed. And it snowed. - [Narrator] With
cars un-drivable and buses unreliable
in the snow, "L" trains were packed. To keep things moving, Bilandic decided to
run the trains express, leaving commuters, primarily
in black neighborhoods, out in the cold. - Standing on the platform and
the trains are just going by like this, right? So what does that do? That
makes you feel real good! (laughing) - [David] People were
angry. They felt neglected. And she became the
messenger for them. - Got my vote. I guarantee you. - The idea that, you know,
this Joan of Arc character could overcome the machine,
or Jane of Arc in this case seemed implausible. But they wanted to make their
voices heard, and they did. - Primary Election Day
turned out to be sunny and, and very clear. - And I watched people charging
into that polling place, excited to vote because they
were gonna vote for Jane Byrne. Not because they
might have liked her, but because they
couldn't stand Bilandic, they were mad about the snow and they wanted
something different. - I did not think
she was going to win. - [Reporter] Is she gonna do it? - Of course. - [Reporter] You excited? - Yes. The whole family's been
behind her a hundred percent. - I thought she
might get more votes, but then I thought they
would find the other votes. I mean, this is Chicago.
They can find them. - We're gonna do
it. We gotta wait. It's 7,000 votes, but
they're holding back. You know what they can
do at the last minute. - Somewhere around
three o'clock, I got a call from Walter
Jacobson who said, "We've got an exit poll
and you're winning." And I said, "Come on." - Understandably, a lot of folks probably
in a near state of shock, over at Bilandic headquarters
at the Bismarck Hotel. And standing by with a live
report, here's Carol Marin. Carol? - Chuck and Jim, I'm with 42nd
ward alderman Burt Natarus. Has the machine
failed to deliver? - As a reporter, it was exciting
to see what would happen. Was it an amazing thing
to see in Chicago? It was. - [Bill] Looks as though we'll
have most of the vote total. - After the polls closed, I was pretty sure
it was definitive. At least three quarters
of the precincts were in, and they were from all over! We weren't just
getting the black vote or the lakefront vote. And I told her, "We got it!" (laughing) - I went, "She won!" (laughs) My poor father nearly
had a heart attack. (crowd cheering) - It was really surreal
to me because honestly, when I started out, I didn't think I'd be covering
the next mayor of Chicago. And I didn't think
I'd be covering the first woman
mayor of Chicago. - I hope I'll please you
and be a very good mayor. (crowd cheering) - [Narrator] Jane
Byrne had clinched the Democratic nomination
by less than 20,000 votes with more than two-thirds
of the black wards going in her favor. - [Reporter] It was all
joy at Operation Push, a celebration of Jane
Byrne's primary victory. Reverend Jesse Jackson
introduced the white lady who had caused so much
happiness in the black community - Miss Jane Byrne! (audience clapping) - [Narrator] In Chicago,
the Democratic nominee is usually a shoe-in to
win the general election. - As your mayor, I promise an end to
the days of clout and the people will
have their city back. - [Narrator] But doubts remained whether the City
Council would support the anti-machine
Democratic candidate. - [Reporter] Can you close
ranks now with Jane Byrne? - In politics, we select the
candidate that we feel is the best stable to
serve in the office and we support 'em. - That means you'll close ranks? - I didn't say that. - It was horror, that this woman was going to
assume the desk of Mayor Daley? Not possible. - Do you think Mrs. Byrne is
qualified to run the city? - I'd rather not make
any comment on that. - [Walter] In this room,
there are funny feelings. Some of Kelly's workers have
shown their dislike for Byrne. But they come through
for her nonetheless, in the traditional
way of the machine. - Politicians adjust
because they are survivors. Ed Vrdolyak and Ed Burke
didn't mind being called evil as long as they had access
to the fifth floor office. - On April 3rd, 1979, Chicagoans turned out for
election day in record numbers, and more than 82% of
them voted for Jane Byrne making her the city's
first female mayor. - So help me, God. - [Pastor] Congratulations,
Mayor Byrne. (audience applauding) - She lost only two out
of some 3,000 precincts. That's overwhelming. Nobody had ever won that
much, not even Mayor Daley. - From Chicago, where there was a stunning
election upset yesterday. - She became a national story. She was the first woman
mayor of a major city, who beat the machine. Oh my God. The New York Times
was suddenly really interested in Jane Byrne in Chicago. ("Jane" by Jefferson Starship) ♪ Jane beat the machine game ♪ ♪ Called politics
by its real name ♪ - She was elected
mayor of Chicago by an amazing 82% of the voters. Please welcome from
Chicago, Mayor Jane Byrne. (audience clapping) When people think
of Chicago politics, of course it's Mayor Daley. And now, um, and I don't
know how to say this, but, a woman running a
big city like Chicago. - Well, I think that you're
going to see more and more women getting involved in politics at every level than
you're used to. - Women were still very
much like unicorns. And the fact that
she was the leader of what was then the second
largest city in the country is a remarkable accomplishment. - [Carol] During the campaign, Don Rose strictly
kind of controlled her
image and her look: the wig, the coat. When she became mayor, she
didn't dress like that. She didn't wear a wig anymore. - They were kissing me up there. I've got lipstick
all over my face. - [Carol] There was
a part of Jane Byrne that very much
liked being a woman who had great legs, good shoes, and some pretty fine
taste in clothing. - A lovely lady such
as yourself, would
be happier at home, making eggs and bacon
for Jay in the morning, around the house
doing the things that a good housewife does. - Well, let me tell
you this, Warren. That I think, um, there
isn't a woman ever born that can't get up in
the morning, put the
heat on the stove, fry some bacon, do some
eggs, and then go to work. - [Narrator] Byrne made it clear that she would not be
content with the status quo. - And you can put signs
up all over the place. "Keep it strong, this
is the city that works." Well, in fact, it hasn't been.
It's been clanking along! - [Reporter] The mayor has
been repeating that message for many months. She wants to bring in the
best people to run the city. - You had a lot of
housecleaning to do, didn't you? - Yes, I did. Some of the media, as
well as the people, got so used to one
mayor for 25 years that they never saw
a cabinet change. - [Narrator] Any holdovers from
the previous administration who didn't cooperate with
Mayor Byrne were fired. - [Len] You want
him out, though? - Yes, I do. I want him out. - [Len] You want him out-- - I want him out, and I'll tell
you why I want him out, Len! I want him out because
he's not with me! And I'm not going to be trying
to run an administration with people working against me. - [Narrator] The
media called it, "Byrne's Revolving
Door Administration." And named her Calamity Jane. - It created an enormous
amount of enemies. And so, I would go in
day after day and I said, "Love your enemies, hold
them close to your bosom, but don't fire them. Okay?
This, this is just a disaster." "Fire 'em!" - She's tough as nails. She's as tough as
anybody at City Hall! And tougher than most of 'em. Some of the toughest
committeemen I know
are afraid of her! - [Carol] As the first
woman to lead a major city as a mayor, she did have something to prove. - [Narrator] But even
as city government got an infusion of fresh blood, Byrne relied on a small
inner circle for advice. - [ Reporter] Mayor
Byrne confirmed that she wanted to retain
husband, press secretary, Jay McMullen as part of
her City Hall family. - [Carol] And that is
mind-boggling, to a lot of us. Jay McMullen cast himself
as the cool cat guy who could roll over
and talk to the mayor. - Do you get a chance when
you have your pillow talk to do more than talk politics? - What else is there
to talk about, Kup? - [Carol] She is a capable
executive who is a woman. You don't need your
husband advising you. - Look, he was a scoundrel,
you know, he was a rogue. He was very much a
link between Byrne and the people who she vilified. - Jane Byrne attacked
Vrdolyak and Burke, and then walked into
City Hall and realized she needed people who knew
how to get things done. What was in it for her was
getting something done, not being obstructed
at every turn. - [Anchor] We begin
tonight with the bright, fresh promise of her
inaugural address and her subsequent troubles
with a government in crisis. - We had 80 inches of snow that requires tens of millions
of dollars in expenditures and overtime. And these were liabilities
that the city had to pay. But in the meantime, the city had an internal deficit of another hundred
million dollars that Jane Byrne had inherited. - There's some things you're
just not going to know until you're
sitting in the seat. - Good morning, everybody! - [Team] Morning! - [Don] No one wanted to
bring in the bad news. I guess that was my job. You
know, I'm the budget director. - As a mayor, I would much rather know
the problems are there than to have them covered up. Band-aid government
has got to go. - [Don] She had press
conferences every day as she was leaving our office. And then she of course blamed
it on the patronage chief and the budget director, the evil cabal that
was running the city. And then she said, "Don't worry, we'll solve
it. We'll have a casino!" - [Narrator] Jane Byrne
knew she needed to clean up the city's finances, and to
do that, she needed allies. - [Don] The power in the
council were definitely lodged with Vrdolyak as
the floor leader and Ed Burke as the
finance committee chairman. - They ran the engine room. You can be the
captain of the ship, but not if the engine
room isn't running. - Now, I want to get
along. I keep saying, "I want to get along. And I
want to work with that council," and we will work together. - It was almost overnight! You know, she was no longer
talking about the evil cabal, but she was talking about
this wonderful working relationship she has with
Eddie Vrdolyak and Ed Burke. It's like, wait, wait a
minute. What happened? - The statement you made
during your campaign was that, you would do away
with the Evil Cabal. I would like to know how
come they're still here? - How was she going to reconcile the reform Jane Byrne with the
machine control of the city? - [Narrator] The first big
test came in the winter of 1979 when city transit workers went
on strike, demanding a raise. - We wouldn't be in
this situation today if Mayor Daley was
alive, I wanna say that! - [Narrator] Just like during
the Bilandic snow fiasco, many commuters were stranded. - I've been out of
work two days already because I haven't had a way! - [Narrator] The transit
strike ended after a few days, but an even bigger crisis
was waiting in the wings. At the height of
the holiday season, the city couldn't pay its
public school teachers, and they, too, went on strike. - We want every dime owed us. - [Don] The mayor's
response was largely just, she had the heat, "This isn't, I didn't do
it. I, it's not mine!" - I don't know what Never
Neverland they all lived in, because to me, $600
million in shortfall money over the course of the
past couple of years is certainly no way to
run a school system. - [ Reporter] Only 3% of the city's 28,000
public school teachers were in their classrooms today. They haven't been
paid in 3 weeks because the Board of
Education is broke. - [Reporter] Mayor
Jane Byrne, a Democrat, had to turn to a
Republican for help, Governor James Thompson. He did agree to an $875
million aid package, with budget cuts. Parents almost broke
up the meeting. - [Narrator] After 10 days,
teachers returned to school. With that crisis averted,
yet another ignited. - I refuse to play
Russian roulette with the safety of
Chicago citizens by granting firemen
the right to strike. - [Narrator]
Contract negotiations with Chicago
firefighters stalled, and they walked off the job. - So we had to bring
in scab laborers and promise them
jobs if they came in. I mean, this was a
labor war going on! - She's playing Russian roulette with the people of this city! - [Anchor] The Chicago
firefighters strike is over. It lasted 23 days and it tested the strength
of Mayor Jane Byrne. - The job of a mayor
is to resolve conflict and to deliver services. That sounds simple, but
to resolve conflict, takes a particular skill, a particular way of
thinking about alliances and bargaining and compromise on every issue that
comes across your desk. - [Narrator] Throughout
the labor unrest, Byrne's new allies in City
Council stood by her side. - And if you want to
look to blame somebody, let's all look at each other,
'cause we're all to blame. - I found that more and more that I was not being brought
in on discussions of things. So I finally said, "Well,
that's it. I quit." I sent a letter of resignation. 15 minutes later, it was on the newscasts
that she had fired me. - [Reporter] The city has come
under the control of a woman who defies analysis. - I think your questions are
both insulting and stupid. Excuse me. - [Reporter] She is
compulsive, she is decisive. She is stubborn, she
is a mind-changer. In short, she is undefinable. - You have courted the press, and the media far more than
your mentor, the late mayor did. People are beginning to say, "Jane Byrne just
talks too much." - Well, I'm sure
that they say that. - I'm going to be honest. Women, people of color, are held to a
different standard, a
different set of rules. - She said, "Oh my God. They're
talking about the budget, they're talking about strikes, and they're worried about
whether I'm wearing stockings or not"? - [Carol] She was looked
over from top to bottom. That didn't happen
to Mayor Daley. That didn't happen
to Michael Bilandic. - [Narrator] By the end of
her first year in office, Mayor Byrne's relationship
with the media had gone from bad to worse. - The things that
are being printed by the Chicago
Tribune are slandered, they are twisted, they are by
innuendo, and in my judgment, they are yellow
journalism, period! - There were times
when she said things that completely
flatly contradicted
what she said before and I would play for her
the tape of what she said, and she would just shrug! - [David] Would you
now be willing to say that you don't support him? - Excuse me, David. If I respected you, I'd answer
you. I don't respect you. (upbeat country music) - [Narrator] One of Jane
Byrne's campaign promises had been to breathe
much-needed life into Chicago's neighborhoods. In the previous decade, the
city had lost 360,000 residents. - Her policy statement that
the city will now begin to do something
for neighborhoods is a great big shot
in the arm for us. - Are you having fun? - [Crowd] Yeah! - She asked me if I would
head up Special Events. And I said yes because,
what a dream job. - [Narrator] In
the summer of 1979, the city held street
fairs and festivals in more than a
dozen neighborhoods. - Us working with the
community organization, saying to them, "What is it that you
have in your community that you're proud of, that really brings out that
identity, and how can we help"? (upbeat music) - [Karen] Previous events, we noticed that none
of the advertising went to the south or the
west side of Chicago. That changed immediately. Free tickets went to the
south side and the west side. If you couldn't afford it,
bingo, there's tickets. - A true friend of
the arts in Chicago, the honorable Jane M. Byrne! (upscale orchestra music) - [Narrator] Under the
Byrne administration, film production
in Chicago soared, bringing revenue and attention
to the newly enlivened city. - We're on a mission from God. - [Narrator] It all started
with "The Blues Brothers." - [Eldwood] We
should be very close to the Honorable
Richard J. Daley Plaza! - [Jake] That's where
they got that Picasso. - [Eldwood] Yep. - [Anchor] Chicago is
becoming Hollywood East as more and more major
films are being shot here. - [Lucy] Sixty million
dollars in economic activity. And we've only
been able to do it because of the
fabulous cooperation from Mayor Byrne's office - [Narrator] Byrne
also had a plan to rebuild Chicago's
infrastructure. In 1980, she gained
an unlikely ally. - Rejuvenation of
the American economy is the number one priority
of my administration. - [Narrator] Byrne
got federal funding for a new rapid transit
route from downtown to Midway Airport. And she secured 1.6 billion
dollars for expansion at O'Hare. Jane Byrne also
began improvements
to the downtown area. Like the revitalization of the
old, dilapidated Navy Pier. - [Carol] She wanted to
bring people into the city. So you had Taste of Chicago
and you had Chicago Fest. - [Narrator] Mayor Byrne's
vision for a unified city included communities that
had long been ignored. She designated June 28th Gay
Pride Parade Day in Chicago. Byrne later issued
an executive order banning anti-gay discrimination in city employment,
housing, and services. - [Lori] What it means to be
a diverse and welcoming city, in recognizing what we call
then the gay community, um, she was really a leader. - [Narrator] But Jane
Byrne's aspirations to make Chicago a
world-class city met up against a
cold hard reality: its finances were in shambles. And it was only getting worse. - [Callaway] When
you go home at night, are you able to
shed all this stuff? Are you still able
to smell the flowers? - Well, I'm allergic to flowers, so I never went around
and smelled the flowers. I did, I do. But I think that's what
the game is all about. I don't think that I thought
it was going to be easy to be mayor of Chicago. - [Narrator] One of
the most visible signs of Chicago's struggles was
its high-rise public housing. In the two short decades
since they had gone up, the buildings had already
fallen into disrepair. - It's not the people's fault
that the elevators don't run. Labor unions are getting
rich off of public housing. Politicians are
receiving contributions
from the contractors and the labor unions. So everybody is shaking
everybody else's hands, and the people who come
out on the bottom end are the residents themselves. - [Narrator] A federal audit showed that housing authority
chairman Charles Swibel, had been operating the agency
as "a vehicle for patronage" for nearly 20 years. Swibel was a real
estate developer, and also Jane Byrne's
top campaign fundraiser. - They always just
put up these hacks, these people who are not
really interested in service, but are interested in power. - [Narrator] Perhaps
the most notorious of the housing authority's
so-called "vertical ghettos" was Cabrini-Green. In just the first
three months of 1981, Cabrini saw nearly 50 shootings. - My children have to go
to school and I will say, I am afraid over here. - [Jacky] The cops, of course,
they didn't really care. "These are black kids
killing black kids. Y'know? One less black kid." - [Narrator] Just a
stone's throw away, was the posh, Gold Coast
apartment of Mayor Jane Byrne. She had a clear view of Cabrini
from her 43rd floor window. - She was coming
home one Saturday and she said to the driver,
"Take me through Cabrini." So as they were driving through, there was a paddy wagon and they were putting
a girl into it. She said, "Pull over and find
out what that's all about." So they came back to the car and they said, um, the girl had
been gang raped. She was 12. So Janie said, "Well,
I'm moving in." - A rundown apartment
building in Chicago will soon be home to that
city's mayor, Jane Byrne. - The Cabrini complex
is looking better than it has in years. The city, working
hard to clean it up before the mayor moves in. - Hey, there's paint! All of a sudden
you've discovered
paint. Rodent control! Where's all that
been all this time? - [Narrator] In March of 1981, Jane Byrne and her
husband Jay McMullen moved into a fourth floor
unit at Cabrini-Green. - [ Reporter] Some
residents are cynical about the Mayor's motives. - She's not really a resident. She's just someone that just
moved in with her security, that's all. (laughing) - But the thing is
that, in moving in, it just pointed up
the inequalities of what was going on in Cabrini. - [Carol] The
second-grade teacher of the local public school had the children
write letters to her. "Dear Mayor Jane Byrne, you
should not move in the project. It's too bad. You
will get killed." - [Reporter] The neighbors
know at some point, the mayor plans to move out
of here, security and all. She was asked when that will be. - [Jane] When I think
people can look out a window and not get shot. (singing upbeat gospel) - [Narrator] Many of
Byrne's new neighbors did not welcome her presence. When the mayor held an Easter
celebration for the community, people came out to vent
their frustrations. - Jane Byrne is full of shit!
Jane Byrne is full of shit! - [Reporter] The question now is whether the
presence of a mayor can overcome the
presence of poverty and the presence
of random violence. - [Narrator] During the
mayor's time at Cabrini, elevators were fixed,
trash pickup resumed, and violent crime subsided,
even if just for a few weeks. - What it did was to say
things could be different, you know, if somebody cared and they only cared
when the mayor moves in. - I think what she did was bold. Give her credit for
bringing attention to a place that most people
would rather look away from. - [Narrator] But
the move to Cabrini had strained her relationship
with the black community. - Blacks gave you quite an
overwhelming vote of confidence in the last election. And what have you done
for them in return? - For some reason when we
make black appointments, they don't get the
kind of publicity that a white appointment gets. And I'm sure that you
people don't know, all of the blacks that we
have brought into government - [Narrator] And yet, when black leaders
recommended candidates for key departments, Byrne
went with her own picks. - [Jacky] The
appointments to education, appointments to Chicago
Housing Authority, again, these are institutions
that directly affect the black community. - [Woman] What are you gonna do? - About what? - [Woman] You promised. You made all your promise about what you gonna
do for the blacks, and you never kept none of
your promise you promised us. - You can't just
have words, right? You gotta do some actions. - Give us! Give us, an intelligent,
efficient, non-racist person! - [Crowd] Yes! - This is a big
complicated city, and running it is a tough job. I've made some mistakes, some
big ones. But I've learned. - [Narrator] Only halfway
through her first term, Mayor Byrne announced
her bid for re-election. - [Jacky] Jane Byrne
turned her back on us. Yeah, we have to have
a black candidate. So then the question
was, who is this person? - [Narrator] As black
community leaders considered where to
throw their support, a familiar name
entered the race. - After much deliberation, I have decided to be a
candidate for Mayor of Chicago. - [Narrator] It was the son of Jane Byrne's
political mentor. - [ Reporter] Daley is
popular in the white, working class neighborhoods. But Byrne is popular with
a more influential group, the men of the machine. - [Vrdolyak] The city of
Chicago needs Jane Byrne. We will go out there, and we will go out and
campaign for the candidates that we endorse in every
neighborhood of this city. - People are worried about
the future of Chicago because they have experienced
the results of mismanagement! - Rich Daley carried a sense
of entitlement with him. "This fifth floor is ours."
And Jane Byrne knew that. - Byrne decided that
Daley would destroy her and she was going to
destroy him first. - [Voice Over] In just
the last two years, Richie Daley himself has
raised a campaign fund of nearly five million dollars. Some of it from
city contractors. C'mon, Richie. - [Narrator] As Byrne
focused on Daley, the chorus of criticism from the black
community grew louder. When Mayor Byrne
appointed three whites to the housing authority board, Reverend Jesse
Jackson led a boycott of her beloved Chicagofest. - Apparently the mayor has
caught a case of amnesia! She has forgotten who
put her in office. The spirit of the
use of the boycott as a weapon for liberation
has been revived. - [Reporter] There is still
no word on a replacement on the main stage
for Stevie Wonder. His cancellation gave Jackson's
boycott its big start. - When she was elected, she talked a great deal
about "One Chicago." Now the woman had
inadvertently or advertently polarized the city. - [Narrator] U.S.
congressman Harold Washington voiced the community's
frustrations with the two choices
on the ballot. - [Harold] If his name were
anything other than Daley, his campaign would be a joke! Everything I ever got in
the world, I worked for! Nobody gave me anything! - So one of the people
that kept coming up was this congressman from the
first congressional district, one Harold Washington! So it took a lot of convincing
to get him to do it. - [Harold] How many of you
are here today to register? Let me see your hands. - [Narrator] An army of
Washington supporters registered more
than 150,000 voters in just a few short months. - And so, okay Harold.
What are you gonna do now?! - I hereby declare my
candidacy for mayor of Chicago! (crowd cheering) - [Narrator] Harold
Washington set his sights on Mayor Byrne. - She's abrasive, injudicious,
unthinking, intemperate. - [Kathy] When Harold took off,
there was no stopping that. And she said, "I get it. I am not going
to get the black vote." - You're gonna get defeated. - [Jane] Huh? That was hard for her. - [Narrator] Jane Byrne hired a New York-based
media consultant who had worked with some of
the biggest names in politics. - [Reporter] When Sawyer
arrives at Chicago City Hall, his polls show that Mayor
Byrne is 20 points behind any of her likely opponents,
and he gets to work fast. He brings a videotape
camera into her office. She rehearses her speeches,
her press conferences, and commercials. - Let's remember
that November 2nd. - [Narrator] Sawyer and his team muzzled Byrne's impulsive
husband, Jay McMullen. - [Reporter] McMullen has
been exiled from City Hall, where his statements were often
embarrassing to the mayor. - [Narrator] And Byrne began
projecting a new image: a serious, calm leader who grabbed Chicago's
finances by the reins and got it working again. - [Reporter] Sawyer tells her
to wear more subdued colors because they look
better on television. He coaches the mayor on
how to handle reporters. Don't snap back, he says.
Give shorter answers. Don't get involved in fights. - [Narrator] But as Byrne
prepared for the first debate, both major papers
endorsed Richard M. Daley. In this three-way race, Jane Byrne and her team still
saw Daley as the one to beat. - What has happened is this
administration has failed to professionize the
police department. - You listen to
Stumbling Richie. (laughing) And you listened to Jane
Byrne who was feisty, but not substantive. - Because it was the
Chicago Police Department who proved those cases,
made those arrests, and brought them to the
State's Attorney's Office! (crowd applauding) - I submit to you very
clearly, very clearly, and I want no doubt about it! The day I walk into that
office, Mr. Brzeczek will go! (crowd applauding) - [Narrator] It
was becoming clear that Byrne's biggest rival
was not Richard M. Daley. - My press secretary
made an announcement that I was going strictly
to the Black community to shore up my vote. Hey, I need your
help on Tuesday! - [Narrator] Days
before the primary, Mayor Byrne campaigned
in the housing projects, including Cabrini-Green. Her visit seemed to only fan
the flames of discontent. - White folks ought to
support white folks, Puerto Rican folks ought to
support Puerto Rican folks. Black folks ought to
support Harold Washington! - [Jane] It was
violent, what happened! To go to Cabrini-Green, I mean, everything
from human excrement was thrown out the window at me. - With Harold
Washington in the race, it became a race about race. - And in some awful way, anyone who was inclined
to be a sexist, misogynist would say "Oh, a
woman just couldn't do it." There is no way anyone
could've fixed what was wrong in four years. - I feel very confident
that we'll win. - [Reporter] For Jay,
there is a sense of relief. After being kept silent
for three months, he's finally able to
say what he thinks. And it's a good thing he
couldn't say it before. - I don't think you would've
had a black ex-convict, who devoted most of his adult
life to avoiding income tax and cheating his clients
and being disbarred twice, would've ever thought
of being a candidate. - [Reporter] It is election
day in the city of Chicago. And 81% of the
voters will turn out, and that would be a record
for municipal elections here in the city. - Let's bring him up,
folks! Let's bring him up! (crowd cheering) - [Narrator] 37% of
Chicagoans cast their ballots for Harold Washington. - The results are very clear. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Congressman
Harold Washington. He is the Democratic nominee. Thank you. Bye-bye. Bye! - [Narrator] Just four years after Jane Byrne
challenged the machine and shattered the glass ceiling, Harold Washington made history, becoming Chicago's
first black mayor. - [Jacky] A new day for real! You know, uh, Jane Byrne, we thought we were getting
a new day, but we didn't. But with Harold Washington,
it was a new day. You got it. - She said, "He won,
and let's move on. And if I can help, I will." - [Don] She showed
extraordinary durability to come back from that defeat. - [Narrator] But Jane
Byrne wasn't ready to leave public life behind. In the summer of 1985, she attempted to reclaim
the office of mayor. - And now I think the campaign
I've waited for will begin. Now. - I thought it
began 8 years ago, when she made all
those phony promises! - With all the separatism,
I always loved all of you. Thank you very much. - [Narrator] Jane Byrne's
message of love and unity only went so far
with black voters. (crowd cheering) And again, Harold Washington
secured the Democratic ticket. This time by merely
80,000 votes. - She felt that she
had more work to do. She was committed to
this city like no other. - [Narrator] Byrne
continued to run, first for Circuit
Court Clerk in 1988. And later, she again took on
Richard M. Daley for mayor. - I am announcing my candidacy for the office of mayor
of the city of Chicago. - [Narrator] Three decades
after his father gave her a job in city politics. - [Reporter] Byrne's campaign
office on the North Side is not the beehive of activity
it was when she was mayor. - [Narrator] Daley
won by a landslide. And Jane Byrne soon began
to fade from public view. - [David] She kind of
vanished from the scene. And for the rest of her life,
she was kind of an apparition. - [Kathy] The city made an
announcement that they were dedicating rocks to
notable woman Chicagoans. Jane Byrne did not get a rock! I told my mom how upset I was. And she said, "I
don't want a rock. Those look like tombstones!" - All politicians in Chicago have something named after them. It's part of the
Chicago tradition. - [Reporter] The public park surrounding the
Chicago Water Tower will be renamed
Jane M. Byrne Plaza. - The Water Tower is a survivor. And my mother is a survivor. - [Carol] I thought
it was proper. More than one something
should be named for her. - [Reporter] Tomorrow
the point in the city where the Kennedy,
Eisenhower, and Dan Ryan come together will be renamed the Mayor Jane
Byrne Interchange. Fitting for the woman who
campaigned for One Chicago. - I didn't know the
signs above the highways were going to be saying like, "Eight minutes to Jane
Byrne," but I love it. - Well, I thought it was kind
of ironic that they would name the interchange that
everybody hates after her. But so it goes, you
know. History is
written by the winners. - [Reporter] Today Chicago
remembers Jane Byrne. The city's first and only
woman to become mayor died today at the age of 81. - [Narrator] On
November 14th, 2014, Jane Byrne died of health
complications from a stroke. - [Kathy] She loved
every minute as mayor. She loved and knew this city and knew its people
as no one ever has. - [David] You have
to acknowledge that she was a historic figure. She was part of a period of
rapid and significant change in the city. First woman mayor, who gave
way to the first black mayor, and that's part of history
that nobody can take from her. - [Reporter] But we said what
would you do differently? - Probably, I didn't talk
to the people enough. You got so bogged down in the
bureaucracy and the governing that you sort of
take it for granted. They will understand. - I want her to be recognized, as this extraordinary
woman who was strong, who was dedicated, who loved the city
and everybody in it. - Her imagination gave
people in Chicago an idea of, "I'm from here and
this is a good place and I'm going to
make it better." - I worry that she'll be
remembered as a feisty gal, as opposed to a woman
who took on the machine and brought it, at least
for a moment, to its knees. Threw some cold water in its
face, and gave it a scare. Maybe that's not enough
to make radical history, but it's pretty good. (soft upbeat music)
