During Richard J. Daley’s tenure as mayor, Chicagoans learned that to get something done in the city, you needed to talk to the “man on five.” From his office on the fifth floor of City Hall, Daley responded to the countless letters and memoranda that landed on his desk each day. He managed scores of city departments and programs that made the city function and created and monitored the city’s vast budget. Dignitaries, aldermen, commissioners, and other public servants made the trip to the fifth floor to pay their respects, plead their cases, and report on their successes and failures. A short elevator ride brought the mayor to the city council chambers, where he presided over a largely supportive group of aldermen. He was a hands-on mayor who reveled in his work and celebrated his city.

Mayor Richard J. Daley working in his fifth-floor office in City Hall, undated. RJD_04_01_0041_0001_014
From his day-to-day life as mayor to his working relationship with some of the leading national politicians of his day, Daley’s family, friends, and former colleagues reflect on what it was like to witness firsthand his distinctive leadership style.