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1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of Senate of the Ninety-Third
3 General Assembly of Illinois were saddened to learn of the
4 death of Eleanor "Sis" Daley on Sunday, February 16, 2003 at
5 her home in her Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago at the age
6 of 95; and
7 WHEREAS, Mrs. Daley has been fittingly called Chicago's
8 matriarch because she was the wife of the late Mayor Richard
9 J. Daley and the mother of three politically prominent sons,
10 two of whom, John and Richard M., served in this body before
11 holding their respective current political offices of Cook
12 County Commissioner and Mayor of Chicago, the third being
13 William, the former United State's Secretary of Commerce; and
14 WHEREAS, Mrs. Daley was never greatly impressed by the
15 trappings of high office, preferring to be out of the
16 political limelight, where she provided her husband with
17 shelter from his governmental and political duties and raised
18 her seven children in a strict but loving manner, in a
19 household where religion, education, and respect for others
20 shared equal attention; and
21 WHEREAS, Mrs. Daley was born on March 4, 1907, sharing
22 her birthday with Chicago, which was incorporated as a city
23 on that day in 1837; she was the eighth of 11 children of
24 Patrick and Nora Guilfoyle; and
25 WHEREAS, Both of her parents were Chicago-born immigrants
26 from Ireland, her father working as a butcher in the Chicago
27 Stockyards while the family lived in a home at 2949 South
28 Troop Street; and
29 WHEREAS, Mrs. Daley was introduced to Richard J. Daley by
30 her brother Lloyd at a softball game when she was a teenager
31 and Daley was a law student, playing second base for the
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1 Hamburg Athletic Team Club; and
2 WHEREAS, By the time they started dating, Mrs. Daley had
3 graduated from St. Mary's High School and St. Bridget's
4 Commercial and was working as a secretary when their six-year
5 courtship began; and
6 WHEREAS, Mrs. Daley and her husband were married in June
7 1936, and their two-week honeymoon was taken in the midst of
8 Daley's first political campaign, which was a successful run
9 for State Representative; and
10 WHEREAS, The family's home, a bungalow at 3536 South Lowe
11 Avenue in the heart of their native Bridgeport, was built by
12 them in 1939 and would expand over the years to accommodate
13 their growing family, which would include seven children:
14 Patricia, Mary Carol, Eleanor, Richard, Michael, John and
15 William; and
16 WHEREAS, When Richard J. Daley was elected mayor in 1955,
17 little changed for Mrs. Daley, who concentrated on raising a
18 family, taking care of her home, and providing Mayor Daley
19 with a secure and peaceful refuge from the demands of his
20 public schedule; and
21 WHEREAS, When the Daley's celebrated their 40th
22 anniversary in 1976, the former Mayor Daley shared his
23 feelings about his wife at a press conference as follows:
24 "The secret is to get a good wife and a good companion. We've
25 had a very happy marriage and we have a great family and
26 there's been no great differences between us."; and
27 WHEREAS, Less than a year later, the late Mayor Daley
28 suffered a fatal heart attack, and when thousands of people
29 gathered in bitter cold to pay their respects at the wake in
30 Bridgeport's Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church on December
31 21, 1976, Mrs. Daley stood by her husband's bier and thanked
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1 each person for coming; and
2 WHEREAS, After her husband's death, Mrs. Daley continued
3 to participate in the city's cultural and civic life; and
4 WHEREAS, In 1989, Mrs. Daley celebrated her son Richard
5 M. Daley's victory as Mayor of Chicago after playing an
6 active role in his campaign for that office in both 1983 and
7 1989; and
8 WHEREAS, Mrs. Daley again moved largely into the
9 background after her son's election as mayor, enjoying the
10 visits of her children, grandchildren, and
11 great-grandchildren to her home in Bridgeport; and
12 WHEREAS, Mrs. Daley's public appearances have been few in
13 recent years; on March 4, 2000, she acted as hostess of
14 Chicago's 163rd birthday party at the Water Tower on North
15 Michigan Avenue; and
16 WHEREAS, In her 90s, Mrs. Daley continued to enjoy
17 listening to music and reading, rooting for her beloved
18 Chicago White Sox, visiting her husband's grave twice a week,
19 attending church, and taking pride in the accomplishments of
20 her children and their children's children, which included
21 watching her son William be named Secretary of Commerce by
22 President Bill Clinton; and
23 WHEREAS, Mrs. Daley will long be remembered by all who
24 knew her as a warm and unassuming person, with a good sense
25 of humor and an abiding love for her family, her
26 neighborhood, and Chicago; and
27 WHEREAS, Mrs. Daley's passing will be deeply felt by all
28 who knew and loved her, especially her four sons, Richard M.,
29 John, William, and Michael; her two daughters, Mary Carol and
30 Patricia; and her several grandchildren and great
31 grandchildren; therefore be it
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1 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL
2 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the death of
3 Eleanor "Sis" Daley; and be it further
4 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
5 presented to the members of her family as an expression of
6 our sorrow for their loss.