Thank you Mayor Daley.

On May 16, 2011, the Honorable Mayor Richard M. Daley will leave office; Daley is likely to leave many marks behind, one will be having served in office the longest of any Mayor in Chicago’s colorful history. Up until the end of last year, his Dad had been the longest serving Mayor. Combined, over the last 55 years, one of the Daley’s has been in office for 42 of them.

I was not living in Chicago when his father ran the town, but I can say I do believe his father would be very proud of the job he has done. Yes, there have been scandals, many of them actually, but there also has been a beautification to our city that probably would not have happened if we had a revolving door of Mayors running the city.

So what’s changed? Plenty.

When the 1996 Democratic convention was held in Chicago, it was a given it was going to be a lot different than the one that had taken place 28 years before. The town was going to be in its best shape since I can remember, and for those visiting the “City of Big Shoulders” you can be sure Mayor Daley was making sure of it.

All you have to do is walk down the famed, “Magnificent Mile” and you will see flowers, clean streets, an abundance of retailers (yes some have changed) and during the summer tourist, and citizen, stopping experiences. Probably the one that changed the landscape the most was the “Cows on Parade” exhibit. They have tried to replicate it, but nothing has come close to touching the success of the cows. It was genius---and it all started in Zurich. Switzerland.

The city of Chicago is a wonderful city and finally with spring around the corner, it will take on a completely different feel when the days warm up and the sidewalks fill up with visitors from all over the globe mixing with the “citizens of our great city.”

The photo above is of the structure “Cloud Gate” which was built for the opening of Millennium Park in downtown Chicago. Of all the most recent additions to Chicago, this is probably the largest attraction---well that’s until the Chicago Bulls reclaim the World Championship. Then in my eyes, they will rank well above any fixture in the city; if they continue on for as long as the Daley’s have in ruling the town, then Derrick Rose will likely be the Mayor of the town!

Thanks for stopping by.