Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley has earned a national reputation for his innovative, community-based programs to address education, public safety, neighborhood development, the environment and other challenges facing American cities.

A former state senator and county prosecutor, Daley was first elected Mayor in 1989, and was re-elected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007 by overwhelming margins.

Frustrated with the performance of Chicago’s schools, Daley assumed responsibility for the Chicago Public Schools in 1995. His new management team closed a $1.8 billion deficit, improved school safety, greatly expanded summer school, after-school and early childhood education programs and invested more then $5 billion in capital improvements, including building 34 new schools.

Daley’s focus on quality-of-life concerns has led to the City’s undertaking hundreds of initiatives aimed at making Chicago the most environmentally friendly city in the world, including: developing a Green Permit Program; installing or encouraging the construction of more than 600 gardens and green roofs and adding more than 200 acres of new parks and green space throughout the city.

Daley instituted a successful community policing program, with beat officers working with city agencies and neighborhood residents to solve problems that foster crime. Chicago’s crime rate has dropped notably since 1992.

Since Daley has been Mayor, Chicago has become a global economic center. MasterCard International’s annual evaluation in 2008 rated Chicago as the 5th most influential city in the global economy and Standard & Poor’s ranks the city among the world’s Top 10 Economic Centers.

He is a former president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and founder of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus and Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.