Chicago

Byrne: coming up roses

JANE BYRNE came out of nowhere, crushed the most powerful political machine in the country, and became the mayor. She then promptly discarded many of her campaign promises and confounded observers with the sometimes bizarre way she approached her job. Polls showed her popularity plummeting, and some of the news media began looking upon her as a one-term mayor. There was even talk of a recall.

Now, somehow, two-and-a-half years into her four-year term, things seem to have changed. If the election were held today, in my opinion Mrs. Bryne would stand an excellent chance of succeeding herself. What happened?

The factors that influence political fortunes are complex and innumerable, and it rarely is possible to point to one as clearly the most significant (an exception being the snowfall that gave Mrs. Byrne her 1979 victory). But if Mrs. Byrne wins in 1983, she may be able to look back to March 21, 1981 as the turning point — the day she announced she and her husband were moving into the Cabrini-Green public housing project.

Her move was largely a symbolic act, but it captivated the people of the city. Chicagoans, if you'll excuse a generality, admire people with guts, and Jane Byrne's move to Cabrini was seen as a gutsy thing to do — a Chicago kind of thing — especially for a woman. Not that she put herself in much physical danger; she had an army of policemen with her. But she came across to many people as a public official who cared enough about solving a problem to really inconvenience herself. And it didn't just appeal to blacks; I have talked to some whites who happen to be anti-black but who nevertheless admired it. In a Chicago Sun-Times/WBBM-TV poll taken the week of the move, almost two-thirds of those questioned said they approved of it, and more than two-thirds said they thought she was sincere. (Among whites questioned, 60 percent approved; among blacks 69 percent.)

The overall image she appears to have projected is that of a tough, feisty, no-nonsense, hard-working woman who takes her job seriously and is doing her best to make Chicago "work" in the same tradition as her mentor, the late Mayor Richard J. Daley. She has a lot of faults, but it is perceived that she's trying hard to solve the city's problems, and that even if she isn't all that great, who's better?

A Chicago Tribune poll in July showed her popularity at its highest point in almost two years. Nearly 40 percent of those surveyed said she was doing an above-average job (excellent or good); only 14 percent said she was doing a poor job. In a Tribune poll last December, only 14 percent called her excellent or good and 43 percent said her performance was poor!

She came through the May-June-July transit crisis virtually unscathed. She apparently made points with her declaration that she would not let the Chicago Transit Authority shut down, even if the city government had to take it over. She also made a good public impression in the way she handled the firemen's strike, the transit workers' strike, and the financial crisis of the school district.

Jane Byrne acts like she loves Chicago, is excited about it, is loyal to it, and wants to make it better. It was her predecessor, Michael Bilandic, who started the annual summer music festival on Navy Pier, ChicagoFest, but it is Jane Byrne who is getting the credit for improving and expanding it. She also has instituted a program of ethnic festivals in neighborhoods throughout the city throughout the summer. Let's face it: There are a lot of voters and potential voters out there who care little about governmental issues but may remember Jane Byrne because they had such a wonderful time at the neighborhood festival she sponsored.

Daley's son, Cook County State's Atty. Richard M. Daley, is Mrs. Byrne's chief antagonist and her most likely challenger in 1983. If her political fortunes falter in the next year — as well they could if the city's finances go from bad to worse — Daley may run. But if she remains popular, Daley isn't likely to want to stick his neck out.

In the recent Tribune poll, 33 percent favored Mrs. Byrne in a hypothetical Byrne-Daley race, 24 percent favored Daley, and the remaining 43 percent were undecided. Daley could run a good race against her.

There is one other person who could present an awesome threat to the mayor — Congressman Dan Rostenkowski — but it seems unlikely he would run.

Mrs. Byrne's greatest fear is that she will have only one opponent. If there are several candidates, they will split the anti-Byrne vote and it won't hurt her. (If there had been a third candidate in 1979, Mrs. Byrne would have been unable to topple Bilandic.)

Alderman Roman Pucinski is a possible candidate — he would draw Polish votes away from both Byrne and Daley — and the black community may put up somebody, perhaps Congressman Harold Washington or state Sen. Richard Newhouse. One of these days the blacks will acquire the muscle to win the mayoralty, but not in 1983.

Mrs. Byrne's greatest asset is her incumbency. It has enabled her to raise millions of dollars to spend on television, and it has provided her with a phalanx of patronage workers to get out the vote. The machine is not what it used to be, but there remain an awful lot of people who depend on the mayor for their livelihood.

If Jane Byrne slips, it is likely to be because the city's financial situation slides. New York and Cleveland have gone broke, and Chicago may be the next. If I were she, I think I'd take a banker to lunch this week. And next week.

32 | October 1981 | Illinois Issues