Richard J. Daley collection, Series 1, 1870-2010

  • IdentificationMSRJD_04_Series1
  • Title
    • Richard J. Daley collection MSRJD_04_Series1
    • An inventory of the collection at the University of Illinois at Chicago
  • PublisherSpecial Collections
  • RepositorySpecial Collections
  • Physical Description700.0 Linear feet
  • Date1870-2010
  • AbstractRichard Joseph Daley (May 15, 1902 – December 20, 1976) was a six-term mayor of the city of Chicago (1955-1976) and the influential chair of the Cook County Democratic Party from 1953 until his death in 1976. Daley served as an Illinois State representative and Senator (1936-1946), State Director of Revenue (1948–50), and Cook County Clerk (1950–55) before being elected mayor. As mayor, Daley focused on municipal services, the development of the city center, and the fiscal health of the city. As Chairman of the Cook County Democratic Central Committee, he wielded local and national political power. The Richard J. Daley Collection contains materials documenting the public offices, political career, and personal life of Daley and contains documents, publications, ephemera, memorabilia, artifacts, and photographs dating from 1870-2010. The bulk of the collection dates from Daley’s terms as mayor of the city of Chicago and Chairman of the Cook County Democratic Central Committee.
  • OriginationDaley, Richard J., 1902-1976

For a biographical sketch and chronology of Richard J. Daley, please see the Collection Description.

Series I: The Political Office Series

The Political Office Series contains material related to Richard J. Daley’s career in public office and contains several sub-series.

Subseries 1: The Political Office Papers

This subseries primarily contains office files from Richard J. Daley’s mayoral office. The series also includes a smaller amount of material pertaining to Daley’s career as Cook County Deputy County Treasurer, Illinois State Representative, Illinois State Senator, Illinois Director of Revenue, and Cook County Clerk. The material was received by the library arranged by chronological year and the original order of the yearly files and their folder titles have been retained whenever possible. Materials in this subseries consist primarily of correspondence from politicians, local constituents, and others and carbon copies of responses by Daley. The subseries also contains reports, speeches, budget statements, meeting minutes, press releases, memos, newspaper clippings, and other formats of material related to Daley’s activities and the issues with which his office dealt.

Subseries 2: Political Personalities Papers

This subseries contains correspondence from and to prominent national and international politicians and dignitaries as well as correspondence with celebrities. The majority of this material was removed from other series prior to donation to the library. This separation has been retained. A small amount of ephemera is included in cases where it was originally found with the correspondence. Prominent figures included in this series include Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter, members of the Kennedy family including Joseph, Robert, and Edward Kennedy, Hubert Humphrey, NASA astronauts, and others. Invitations and programs for several White House events are also included.

Subseries 3: Colonel ‘Jack’ Reilly Papers

This subseries contains a small collection of files from the office of Colonel Jacob Reilly, Director of Special Events for the City of Chicago (1955-1977). This subseries contains materials related to the planning of special events such as inauguration ceremonies, presidential visits, parades for visiting astronauts, and the visit of the Beatles to Chicago in 1964. The files arrived arranged alphabetically and cover the years from 1957-1977. Significant gaps in years and in completeness within each year are evident.

Subseries 4: Political Office Ephemera and Memorabilia

This subseries contains miscellaneous items such as pamphlets, programs, membership cards, tickets, ribbons and buttons, and other memorabilia that relate to Daley’s career in public office or to city events. These items are arranged chronologically. The materials date from 1919-1976, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1940s-1970s.

Subseries 5: Political Office Artifacts

This subseries contains items believed to have been housed in the mayor’s office in City Hall. They include desk furnishings and gifts and other items displayed in the office. Most items are undated, although many of the gifts carry dates on commemorative labels. They are believed to have been displayed or used from 1955-1976.

Richard J. Daley collection, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Illinois at Chicago

  • Names
    • Chicago (Ill.). City Council.
    • Daley, Richard J., 1902-1976 -- History
  • Subject
    • Elections.
    • Local government.
    • Mayors--Election.
    • Municipal government.
    • Municipal officials and employees.
    • Politics and government.
    • Race relations.
  • Geographic Coverage
    • Illinois--Chicago.
    • United States.