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Former Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne Dies

Wikipedia

Jane Byrne was Chicago's first and only female mayor. Her daughter Kathy says her mother died Thursday at a hospice in Chicago at age 81.

Byrne was elected in 1979 after voters blamed incumbent Mayor Michael Bilandic for the city's slow reaction to a blizzard.

Byrne's election came two years after Bilandic fired her from her post as head of the city's consumer affairs department.

The previous mayor, Richard J. Daley, appointed her to that post in 1968.

Credit Chicago Tribune photo by Ernie Cox, Jr.
Actors Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi give Mayor Byrne a check for $50,000, donated by the cast and crew of `The Blues Brothers.' The donation was for charitable programs.

Byrne was credited with making the city more welcoming to filmmakers who made iconic movies such as "The Blues Brothers.'' She also made national headlines when she moved into a notorious housing project to draw attention to the gang violence there.

In 1983, Byrne was defeated in the Democratic primary by Harold Washington, who would go on to be the city's first black mayor.

Byrne challenged Washington again in the 1987 primary but lost. She is survived by her daughter and a grandson.

Good morning, Early Riser! Since 1997 I've been waking WNIJ listeners with the latest news, weather, and program information with the goal of seamlessly weaving this content into NPR's Morning Edition.