Mayor Richard Daley wasn’t on the city ballot Tuesday for the first time in 22 years.
Opting to stay out of the public eye as Chicagoans went to the polls to pick his successor, Daley cast a ballot during early voting.
The mayor and his wife, Maggie, left town a couple of days ago for someplace warm, a spokeswoman said. They didn’t plan to return until Friday or so.
When he leaves public office May 16, Daley will be able to take what’s left of the $1.26 million he had in his campaign fund as of Dec. 31. He can convert all that money for personal use, but he must pay taxes on it.
Most Illinois politicians no longer can cash out their campaign accounts when they’re done. But Daley has been in office long enough that he qualifies under a grandfather clause inserted into a 1998 state campaign finance reform law.
Some retired politicians keep their campaign funds going. Former Republican Gov. Jim Edgar, for example, still has $579,368 in his fund. He’s used it to make campaign donations, buy Christmas cards, pay for storage and reimburse mileage.
— John Byrne and Ray Gibson
