Fixing Eyesores

Daley made addressing community eyesores a priority. Taking steps to rid Chicago of graffitti, abandoned cars, and abandoned buildings not only made the city look nicer. Residents also believed those efforts were important to strengthen property values and fight crime.

William Daley explains why abandoned cars were such a problem and how his brother, the mayor, addressed it:

[clip: RMDOH_01_daley_william_20180221_002331_002419_AbandonedCars]

In [note: 1993?], Daley implemented his Graffiti Blasters program. Its purpose was to clean new instances of graffiti as quickly as possible.

[note: needs quote] “Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.”

--Mayor Richard M. Daley, date, cite. [note: fix] 

[quote: need to get statement from RMD about graffiti blasters, probably series 3]

[img: Photos of RMD overseeing graffiti removal [note: RMD16_07_0072_0005_001_002/025] [note: Needs to be sent to photo lab as of March 19, 2020] 

Chicagoans saw abandoned buildings, like abandoned cars, as detrimental to property values and invitations to crime. Gery Chico, Daley’s chief of staff (1992-1993), discusses the problem and how the city addressed it:

[clip: RMDOH_01_chico_gery_20171101_000757_000851_AbandonedBuildings]

[img: A memo from the Chicago mayor's press office discusses abandoned buildings, July 19, 2000. Richard M. Daley papers, University of Illinois at Chicago Library. RMD16_03_0359_0009_001]

[img: Internal memo discusses an abandoned building and what the city did to address it, October 22, 2001. Richard M. Daley papers, University of Illinois at Chicago Library. RMD16_03_0300_0001_017][note: Possibly not include because of reference to owner’s potential mental health problems. The owner’s name isn’t mentioned, but their property address is.]

During the housing crisis of the late 2000s, the problem of abandoned buildings assumed new importance as foreclosures overwhelmed the banks and other financial institutions that owned the properties. Ray Orozco, Daley’s chief of staff (2010-2011), explains the mayor’s efforts to keep the banks accountable:

[clip: RMDOH_01_orozco_ray_20170922_003310_003518_AbandonedBuildings]