Byrne, Jane

Byrne, Jane, 1934–2014, American politician, b. Chicago as Margaret Jane Burke. She was Chicago's consumer sales commissioner (1968–77) under Mayor Richard Daley before she became the first woman to win election (1979) as mayor of the city, having defeated Michael Bilandic, Daley's successor, in the Democratic primary. During Byrne's single term, the city faced severe financial problems. In 1983 she ran for reelection but lost the primary to Harold Washington. She unsuccessfully challeged Washington in the 1987 Democratic primary.

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