tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post3117448288664164353..comments2024-03-28T22:15:17.067-05:00Comments on Every goddamn day: 03/29/24: Jane Byrne turns 80Neil Steinberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-34364126252419094452019-05-22T23:09:52.177-05:002019-05-22T23:09:52.177-05:00When I think of "Lady Jane", two images ...When I think of "Lady Jane", two images come to mind. The first one is of her riding in a packed 'L' car after the CTA strike. She looked like just another haggard, frazzled commuter on her way to a Loop office. The other image is a lot more well-known. I'm referring, of course, to the famous photo of the mayor and her daughter...the bare shoulders, the shades, the fedoras...with a young Belushi and Aykroyd, during the filming of "The Blues Brothers" in 1980.<br /><br />Jane Byrne got a lot of heat for that "undignified" image, but she was the one who brought the film industry, and zillions of dollars, back to Chicago...after years of being rebuffed by Daley the Elder. Before 1980, about a hundred movies and TV shows had ever been made in Chicago...since "Blues Brothers", that number has increased tenfold. We have Jane Byrne to thank for every one of those. Grizz 65https://www.blogger.com/profile/02892702223228764894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-36327899171147074442017-05-24T08:25:52.746-05:002017-05-24T08:25:52.746-05:00I expected to have Jane Byrne deja vu about now wi...I expected to have Jane Byrne deja vu about now with President Hillary filling in for Mayor Byrne. She never really got a chance once the old boys got after her one way or another. I'm sure Hillary would be getting the same amount of abuse about now.<br /><br />johntatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10088632798195131329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-26468087247903574502014-05-23T15:01:20.746-05:002014-05-23T15:01:20.746-05:00Beauty, Neil! That was an exciting election even t...Beauty, Neil! That was an exciting election even though we pretty much guessed the outcome.The "Jane Byrne Wins" front page from February 8th, 1979 is on our newspaper wall.<br /><br />D2Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-70916750322039888132014-05-23T07:22:49.969-05:002014-05-23T07:22:49.969-05:00Back in the day, we wise-acre bus tour guides intr...Back in the day, we wise-acre bus tour guides introduced that fountain as "The Fountain of the Honking and Spitting Goose." Glad to hear it's still around. And: This Reader is now VERY curious and wants to hear some Saul Bellow stories...J.J. Tindallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13381555158949851490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-84639362787738524402014-05-23T05:55:29.950-05:002014-05-23T05:55:29.950-05:00Jane Byrne was the first person I ever interviewed...Jane Byrne was the first person I ever interviewed as an honest-to-god paid journalist back in 1979 or '80 when I had just started with the City News Bureau. I remember her as little and kind of mean, but I was more afraid of my editor Paul Zimbrakos than I was of her. And now? Not so much as an honorary street. That graceful fountain with its cranes and sparkling water is now at North and Clark. I pass it most mornings on my way to work (at City Hall!) and I think of her. Happy Birthday Jane Byrne. The first female mayor of Chicago deserved better.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com