Michael Anthony Bilandic

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Michael Anthony Bilandic
49th Mayor of Chicago
In office
December 20, 1976 – April 16, 1979
Preceded by Richard J. Daley
Succeeded by Jane Byrne
Personal details
Born (1923-02-13)February 13, 1923
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died January 15, 2002(2002-01-15) (aged 78)
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Resting place St. Mary's Cemetery

Evergreen Park, Illinois

Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Heather Morgan
Residence Chicago, Illinois

Michael Anthony Bilandic (February 13, 1923 – January 15, 2002) was an Illinois politician who served as the mayor of Chicago, Illinois and as Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court. He was a member of the Democratic Party. He was of Croatian ancestry.

Life and career

Bilandic practiced law in Chicago for several years having graduated from the DePaul University College of Law. He served as an alderman in the Chicago City Council, representing the Bridgeport neighborhood.

When Richard J. Daley died on December 20, 1976, the President Pro Tempore of the City Council, Wilson Frost, announced that he was now Acting Mayor. However, many on the white majority city council disputed the claim of Frost, an African American. After nearly a week of closed-door negotiations, the City Council announced that Bilandic had been selected to serve as Acting Mayor for approximately six months, until a By-election could be held to choose a mayor to fill out the remaining two years in the late Mayor Daley's term. Bilandic was selected with the proviso that he would not contend in this election.

Nonetheless, Bilandic chose to run in the spring election in 1977, and, still in his honeymoon period, received a popular mandate to assume Daley's mantle. However, popular though he was at this time, his term as mayor would prove to be short and difficult.

Bilandic had to face several labor disputes while in the mayor's office, including a gravediggers and cemetery owners' strike and a threatened strike by members of Lyric Opera of Chicago.[1] The Chicago Butcher's Union worked to stop stores from selling fresh meat after 6pm, but Bilandic managed to work out a settlement.[1] Bilandic also had to face social unrest in June 1977 when an FALN bomb exploded in City Hall and started a two-day riot among the Puerto Rican community.[1]

Shortly before the end of his administration, a blizzard struck Chicago and effectively closed down the city. The city's slow response to the debilitating storm was blamed on Bilandic's inaction. He lost the primary election to Jane Byrne, a disgruntled former member of his Cabinet, who went on to succeed Bilandic.[2] According to West Side community leader Nancy B. Jefferson, Bilandic ordered Chicago 'L' trains to not stop in African-American neighborhoods such as the South Side.[3]

Bilandic oversaw the creation of ChicagoFest, a food and music festival held on Navy Pier. The Chicago Marathon had its first running in 1977 and Bilandic participated, finishing with a time of 4 hours.[4] A runner himself, Bilandic arranged to have five miles of unused equestrian paths along the lakefront converted to running paths. [citation needed]

Following his term as mayor, Bilandic was elected to the Illinois Appellate Court in 1984, and then the Illinois Supreme Court in 1990, where he served until 2000. From 1994 to 1996 he was the Illinois Chief Justice.[5]

Personal life

Bilandic was married to Chicago socialite Heather Morgan in 1977 by Chicago's Archbishop John Cardinal Cody.[6] On January 15, 2002, Bilandic died from heart failure, just a month away from his 79th birthday and was interred in St. Mary's Cemetery.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Drell, Adrienne (ed.), 2000, 20th Century Chicago: 100 years 100 voices, Sports Publishing Inc., p. 167. ISBN 1-58261-239-0
  2. ↑ Jane Byrne elected mayor of Chicago, February 27, 1979, Chicago Tribune
  3. ↑ Eyes on the Prize: Part 8 "Back to the Movement" (1979–1983) PBS 1990
  4. ↑ Drell, Adrienne (ed.), 2000, 20th Century Chicago: 100 years 100 voices, Sports Publishing Inc., pp. 166–167. ISBN 1-58261-239-0
  5. ↑ Michael A. Bilandic, Previous Illinois Supreme Court Justice
  6. ↑ Drell, Adrienne (ed.), 2000, 20th Century Chicago: 100 years 100 voices, Sports Publishing Inc., p. 166. ISBN 1-58261-239-0

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Richard J. Daley		 Mayor of Chicago
1976–1979 		Succeeded by
Jane Byrne
1 Acting officeholder.    2 Election declared null and void.
Authority control
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