Mayor of Chicago, 1979-1983
- Democratic Party
- Defeated Michael A. Bilandic in primary election February 27, 1979
- Elected 50th mayor of Chicago April 3, 1979; defeated Wallace D. Johnson (Republican) and Andrew Pulley (Socialist Workers) in general election
- Inauguration: April 16, 1979
- Chicago's first female mayor
Biographical
- Born May 24, 1933 in Chicago
- First married William Byrne, a pilot who died in 1959; together they had one daughter.
- Asked by Mayor Richard J. Daley to work with the Democratic Party organization in Chicago in 1960
- Appointed commissioner of consumer sales in 1969; in this capacity took over functions of Public Vehicle Licenses Commission when it was abolished in 1976
- Appointed co-chair of the Cook County Democratic Central Committee in 1971
- Fired by Mayor Michael A. Bilandic from consumer sales commissioner post in 1977
- In 1978, married Jay McMullen, reporter for the Chicago Daily News and the Chicago Sun-Times
- Died November 14, 2014
- Buried in Calvary Cemetery, Evanston
Sources
- Benjamin, Robert. "Jane Byrne Builds Her Own 'Camelot'." Chicago Tribune, February 28, 1979, p. 11.
- Bliss, George, and Robert Davis. "IRS Probing Taxi Scandal." Chicago Tribune, January 30, 1976, p. 3.
- Grossman, James R., Ann Durkin Keating and Janice L. Reiff, editors. Encyclopedia of Chicago. University of Chicago Press, 2004.
- Unger, Robert. "'Tis a Great Day for Jane, Jay." Chicago Tribune, March 18, 1978, p. B6.
- Wiedrich, Bob. "Jane Byrne may have Her Eye on a Big White House." Chicago Tribune, June 17, 1979, p. 5.
