Bridgeport ponders 'King Richard's' retirement
It's difficult to not think of Mayor Richard M. Daley without the Chicago neighborhood of Bridgeport coming to mind. And it's just as difficult hear the mayor speak and not be reminded of his birthplace roots in this ethnically diverse enclave of the city.
The news of Mayor Daley's decision to not seek re-election in 2011 ran through his South Side hometown as quickly as Joe Byrne's scissors clip hair at Joe's Barbershop. Located at the corner of 26th and Wallace streets in Bridgeport, the small business has been awash with fond memories. A political hotbed, five of Chicago's mayors hailed from the neighborhood. Daley, who announced his decision to retire during a September 7th press conference, moved from Bridgeport in 1993.
“Even though he's moved out of the neighborhood, he will always be a Bridgeporter,” said Byrne in a telephone interview with HelloChicago Wednesday afternoon September 8. “I've lived in Bridgeport since 1948 and I knew him and I knew his dad. I'm sure going to miss him. All of Bridgeport is going to miss him. If he ran tomorrow he would still get elected..the city has improved since he got in office. No matter if it is in debt, it is a beautiful city.”
Historically an Irish-American enclave, longtime Bridgeport residents possess an accent often heard and mimicked in the mayor's speech. The 'dees, dems and dose' once reflected the endearing working-class patter of the neighborhood. No matter how far and wide Mayor Daley traveled the globe, part of Bridgeport, initially called the town of Hard, went with him.
Rare it is to frequent a Bridgeport business without either hearing or seeing the Daley family legacy. At the Bridgeport Coffee House located on Morgan Street, a photo of the late Mayor Richard J. Daley hangs on the wall.
Coffee shop owner Mike Pilkington, though not raised in Bridgeport, tips his hat to Mayor Daley and his decision to retire. “He's King Richard. But he's getting old. Maggie (his wife who has been battling cancer) has been sick,” Pilkington said in a phone interview.
“He hasn't lived here for a long time, although his mom stayed in Bridgeport for many, many years. We're all—citywide--kind of surprised, but his timing seems right, Pilkington added. "With all the financial issues facing municipalities and the federal government's decline in tax revenues, it was just time to go, and I think we all understand.”
Posted by Lori Rotenberk
