And now it’s goodbye
To the Rich Daley reign
The fun and the glory
The pleasure, the pain.
For more than two decades
He ruled like a king
And answered his critics:
“Put dis up your thing!”
They called him “Boss Junior”
A nod to his dad
Who also was mayor
For good and for bad.
But Richard M. Daley
Was not Richard J.
He made his own city
He had his own way.
He said, “I will make
Dis old town like Paree!
Tres chic and tres global!”
His minions cried, “Oui!”
The sky filled with towers
The parks with cute chairs:
A glitzy new look
For da city of Bears.
The streets sprouted tulips
And wrought-iron rails
(And meanwhile his cronies
Were hauled off to jails.)
He knew every alley
Each corner and wall
(But nary a thing
About rot in the Hall …)
He moved out of Bridgeport
His old Irish spot
As downtown went upscale
And condos got hot.
He biked and he peddled
His countless grand schemes:
“Let’s plant on the rooftops!
Let’s dream the big dreams!
Let’s get the Olympics!
Let’s court the Chinese!
Let’s name streets for Oprah!
I’ll do what I please!”
He took over schools,
And in cover of dark
He bulldozed Meigs Field
To make way for a park.
He tore down the projects
His father had built
But poor is still poor
In Chicago’s new gilt.
No, all was not gold
in the Kingdom of Rich
The people got angry
They often did (express their grievances impolitely).
He chewed up the language
He barked at the press
And, yes, he sure bungled
That parking-box mess.
The budget’s a wreck
And recycling still stinks
(At least we can still
Eat foie gras with our drinks.)
And yet in the end
Richard Daley was great
A leader, a thinker
Who guided our fate.
In Uptown and Pilsen
Along Lake Shore Drive
Chicago was changed
By that big Man on Five.
For all he did wrong,
He did good with his clout
He made this town better
And loved it full out.
So now he retires
To be with his wife
Chicago’s next chapter
Will start his new life.
Yes, time marches forward
And Rahm marches in
A new gang’s in power
The new games begin.
But in this last moment
Let’s make a brief stop
To say we were lucky
With Daley on top.
