Jane Margaret Byrne
41st Mayor of Chicago
Party:
Democrat
Elected:
February 27, 1979 (primary)
Defeated Michael A. Bilandic
April 3, 1979 (general)
Defeated Wallace D. Johnson (Republican) and Andrew Pulley (Socialist Workers)
Inauguration:
April 16, 1979: Inaugural Address
Term of office:
1979-1983
Birth:
May 24, 1934
Chicago, IL
Personal:
Maiden name Burke
First married William Byrne, a pilot who died in 1959; together had one daughter
1960 – Asked by Mayor Richard J. Daley to work with the Democratic Party organization in Chicago
1969 – Appointed commissioner of consumer sales
1971 – Appointed co-chair of the Cook County Democratic Central Committee
1976 – Also became commissioner of public vehicle licenses
1977 – Fired by Mayor Michael Bilandic
1978 – Married Jay McMullen, reporter for Chicago Daily News, then Chicago Sun-Times
1979 – Elected Chicago’s first female mayor
Sources:
Grossman, James R., Ann Durkin Keating, and Janice L. Reiff, editors. Encyclopedia of Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004.
Chicago Tribune, Mar. 18, 1978, pg. B6.
Chicago Tribune, Feb. 28, 1979, pg. 11.
Chicago Tribune, June 17, 1979, pg. B6.