City to vote on Jane M. Byrne Plaza

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The city council will vote on a proposal to name a park near Water Tower on North Michigan for former Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne.

Byrne was named Chicago's first female mayor in 1979. Her daughter, Kathy, was there for the ceremony. On Tuesday she returned to hear about the plans to recognize her mother.

The proposal would name the park near Chicago's historic Water Tower on Michigan Avenue the Jane M. Byrne Plaza. Kathy said the Water Tower was an inspiration to her mother, who lived across the street from the building that survived the Great Chicago Fire.

"If it was a budget crisis or a looming school strike, she could look out a see that Water Tower and she would say you survived fire, whatever we are going through now, we'll get through," Kathy Byrne said.

Jane Byrne served one term as mayor. Bitter political feuds combined with a feisty style erased her from Chicago's memory. While other mayors have gotten their due, there has never been anything named after Byrne until today's action by Chicago City Council.

"What would be difficult would be younger people who never knew a woman had been mayor or if they did how come she's not getting credit if she did all that work," Kathy Byrne said.

Jane Byrne is credited with Taste of Chicago, Chicago's jazz and blues festivals, creating the Museum Campus and O'Hare's International Terminal and coming up with gun control. She was also the first mayor to march in the gay pride parade.

"The gay community wouldn't be where it's at without Jane Byrne," Alderman Tom Tunney, 44 Ward, said.

"I think my mother's contributions to the city are what makes it still livable today," Kathy Byrne said.

The Byrne family also asked the council to move a children's fountain from Lincoln Park to the Water Tower plaza. Jane Byrne dedicated the fountain, originally placed on Upper Wacker Drive, when she was mayor.