Funeral plans set for former Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Funeral plans have been set for Jane Byrne, Chicago's first and only female mayor, who died Friday at age 81.

Byrne's funeral will be held Monday at St. Vincent DePaul parish at Webster and Sheffield in Lincoln Park.

Visitation is from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. with a funeral mass to follow.

Many Chicago landmarks and traditions have their roots in Byrne's administration, including the Taste of Chicago, Blues Fest, Jazz Fest and much more.

"I've had countless people come up to me saying i had no idea that the Orange Line was your mom's idea," says Byrne's daughter Kathy, "That the museum campus was a Byrne administration plan."

A year before being elected mayor she married a former journalist Jay McMullen. Those who worked with her and against her in City Hall remember her as a tough yet compassionate leader.

She was also a proud woman who ran for office unsuccessfully several times after her term as mayor. But she will always be remembered as the first woman to run Chicago.

"People would say, Mr. Mayor; should we call her Mrs. Mayor, madam mayor?" her daughter Kathy remembers. "How about just mayor."