The mayor was never one who drank coffee at his desk. He never ate at his desk. City Hall was for business. He had a schedule where he ran appointments fifteen minutes to half an hour. He had a very heavy schedule every day. He was such a brilliant man. He almost never wrote anything down. He remembered what people wanted.

Thomas Donovan, Administrative Assistant to Richard J. Daley, interview excerpt, April 2, 2009

My guess is that if my grandfather were alive today, he would not be a fan of casual Fridays.

Courtney Thompson, granddaughter of Richard J. Daley, interview excerpt, August 5, 2002

His discipline was beyond belief. He was just spot on everything. He was just always—we used to say if the mayor’s house burned down he’d come out in a suit.

Vince Gavin, Security Chief for Richard J. Daley, interview except, July 19, 2014

I think that all good political leaders understand that there’s a bit of theater to life. And he understood that.

William Daley, son of Richard J. Daley, interview excerpt, December 5, 2008

During his time as mayor and in his public life, he held more press conferences than any other mayor. He was accessible every day. I mean, it was unbelievable. People said how he would be hiding out and things like that. He was more accessible to the press.

Michael Daley, son of Richard J. Daley, interview excerpt, July 26, 2006

I’d go to press conferences just to see him handling them. I mean, if he didn’t want to answer a question, the press couldn’t make him answer it, and he would talk around that question so they were so confused they wouldn’t know where it started. He was always in control.

James Riley, Assistant to Richard J. Daley’s Campaigns for Mayor, interview excerpt, October 30, 2014

There was no typical day for the mayor.

There was always a riot. There was always something going on. And so you never, ever knew what. You’d think, oh, it’s going to be a peaceful day today, I’m going to do this, that and the other thing. You couldn’t do it because it was something different.

Kay Quinlan, Richard J. Daley’s Personal Secretary, interview excerpt, August 7, 2014

When they see the mayor in person, when he gets up before an audience. Talk about Knute Rockne. He’s the Knute Rockne of politics.

Ed Kelly, Chicago Park District Superintendent 1973-1986, interview excerpt, December 11, 2003

He could charm anybody. He could strike the fear of God into anybody. If he was in a large room and he entered, it was a presence that he had there that just buzzed with excitement.

Robert Christensen, Executive Director, Chicago Public Building Commission, interview excerpt, September 8, 2003

He was very bright, had a high I.Q., and had a photographic memory. In fact, he never forgot anything. He could meet someone and would spend two minutes talking to them. If he saw that person again, there was a fifty-fifty chance he’d know their name.

Richard Pavia, Chicago Water Commissioner (1973-1979), interview excerpt, June 20, 2002

He ran the city. And many times, he ran the state. There are some people that think he elected a president, Kennedy.

Ben W. Heineman, businessman, public servant, and friend of Richard J. Daley, interview excerpt, October 22, 2003

I also remember traveling, going to Washington…. When they had the conference of mayors, we went there. The conference of mayors was always in the summer. … And those were great. We went to Hawaii one year. And that year was the year, the summer before Kennedy was assassinated, we saw him out there. He stopped and spoke to all of us. That was the last time we saw him. That was the last time my dad saw him. But going to Washington, he’d go out on urban issues for the city. He was fighting for city causes along with other big city mayors…. But anyway, the respect that they had for him, not just from the Illinois delegation, but all around.

John Daley, son of Richard J. Daley, interview excerpt, May 9, 2007

The presidents

Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy

Harry Truman came in one Saturday. And he came in by himself. And he was staying over at the Sherman, I guess. Vince Leddy was the policeman’s name at the desk, and he came back and he said to me, “You won’t believe who’s here.” And I said, “Who?” He said, “Truman.” I said, “Well, bring him in.” Vince Leddy was sitting at the desk reading something, and Truman came in, had a cane, hit him on the head and said, “Young man, is your mayor in?” So of course the mayor was. “Bring him in, you know, right away.”

Kay Quinlan, Richard J. Daley’s Personal Secretary, interview excerpt, August 7, 2014

[President Johnson] liked the mayor. He called the mayor for advice. The mayor would never ask for anything personal. He’d ask for things for the city. And I don’t think that if it was within his control and within his power to do it, I don’t think he’d ever say no to him. But the mayor was a wise and prudent person. He never wore out his welcome.

Ray Simon, Corporation Counsel City of Chicago 1965-1969, interview excerpt, June 30, 2010

He knew Johnson. He was closer in age to Johnson. And he had tremendous respect for Johnson in the sense of how he was able to pass legislation. And he had a concern with Kennedy that many times, people in Kennedy’s cabinet tried to take Congress on, rather than working with them. And then when Johnson became president, he said, “I will work with you. The delegation will work with you.” But he respected Johnson. He was able to accomplish things on his own, and passed many things Kennedy was unable to pass. It was because they had sort of an attitude against Congress, which we mentioned earlier about the university, towards my dad – I think some of the people around Kennedy, not himself, thought that they did not need the Congressional leadership. And they found out very quickly that their bills went down in defeat.

John Daley, son of Richard J. Daley, interview excerpt, May 9, 2007

Nixon, Ford, and Carter

We were walking one day from church and we were going up to meet President Nixon at O’Hare Field and he looked at me and he says, “What time do we have to be up there?” And I said, “Air Force One should be at O’Hare, at the hangar there at ten o’clock Mr. Mayor.” He said, “Fine.” Then he said, “You know Vince, people might not respect the man, but you have to always respect the office.” That says a lot. That’s when he had all the Watergate issues. That was probably one of the biggest scandals in those days of politics in Washington. So the mayor says, “He’s the President of the United States and I’m going to greet him.” Other things aside, he didn’t back off. He didn’t say he’s got problems. Everybody needs a friend when they have problems.

Vince Gavin, Security Chief for Richard J. Daley, interview excerpt, July 19, 2014

But there was no doubt that the mayor knew what was going on in every part of Chicago. He knew when people died. He went to their funeral. When they had a baby he would write a note to the parents. He was a hands-on politician who loved politics and who loved his city. And in my opinion he was an honest man. He never did profit financially from his enormous responsibility and influence and power.

Jimmy Carter, President of the United States 1977-1981, interview excerpt, October 17, 2014

He was a great wake-goer, and the families appreciated that. My own father died. I thought that it was wonderful he came. He paid his respects to the people. But that’s the type of man that he was.

Gene Nolan, Security Detail for Richard J. Daley, interview excerpt, September 3, 2004

His precinct captains meant a lot to him. And in fact in our file in the back we had a three by five card of all the precinct captains, by ward, and every year he would send them a Christmas card, which was nice. People enjoyed it, you know, liked having that. In fact I’m sure they still have them.

Kay Quinlan, Richard J. Daley’s Personal Secretary, interview excerpt, August 7, 2014

Mayor Richard J. Daley, with Democratic [Day] at the Illinois State Fair, which was always a big event. And he, in those days, would literally bring down trainloads of people. They would have a train coming down from Chicago that would leave at 8:00 in the morning and would be taken directly into the fairgrounds. It didn’t stop at some train station and transport people. They would go directly into the fairgrounds. And they would stop the train, and all of these folks from all the ward organizations, the township organizations, would pile out of the train and they would then march around the infield of the state fairgrounds carrying signs, “The 42nd Ward Regular Democratic Organization Proudly Supports Mayor Richard J. Daley,” you know, and they would march around.

Richard J. Durbin, United States Senator, interview excerpt, September 8, 2014