When one hears the words "Chicago" and "Mayor," thoughts usually go immediately to "Daley." However, though they take the mayoral limelight, a large part of Chicago's rich history is its political history and there have been a great many brilliant Chicago mayors outside the Daley Dynasty. One was Michael A. Bilandic.

Born in Bridgeport in 1923, the son of immigrant parents, Michael A. Bilandic was introduced to Chicago politics early. He attended St. Jerome's Croatian School in the 11th Ward, an area that produced the Daleys as well as a great many other Chicago mayors and other politicians.

Bilandic graduated from De La Salle High School in 1940 and received his bachelor's degree from St. Mary's College in Winona, Minnesota. He quickly returned to Chicago and earned a law degree from DePaul University. As if that weren't enough, Bilandic went on to serve as a first lieutenant in the Marine Corps during World War II, in the Pacific.

In 1948 (after returning from the war) he was asked to aid the 11th Ward Democratic party by Richard J. Daley, who at the time was the 11th Ward Committeeman.

But Bilandic's real political career began in 1969. At that time, the late Matthew J. Danaher had been in line for appointment as clerk of the Circuit Court. Daley needed a replacement for Danaher as 11th Ward alderman. Although Bilandic was reluctant to give up a flourishing law practice that was bringing him an estimated $75,000 a year (and those were 1969 dollars), Richard J. Daley was a hard person to refuse (just ask John F. Kennedy). Bilandic ran for alderman, winning in a landslide.

Bilandic was considered a very effective alderman. Unfortunately, though he was always well prepared for a debate or speech, he was often longwinded. Compounding this was his monotone voice and delivery, which helped to earn him a reputation as a "drab" person.

Drab though he may have been, Bilandic was a man of many talents, one of the foremost of which being finance. This was a good thing for him, as well as for Chicago. In 1974, Alderman Thomas E. Keane of the 31st Ward was caught with his hand in the cookie jar (unfortunately yet another popular trait of Chicago politicians). Keane was on trial in federal court, facing charges of conspiracy and mail fraud. Bilandic was chosen to replace him as council floor leader and chairman of the powerful Finance Committee.

In 1976, just two short years later, Mayor Richard J. Daley died in office. With the most powerful political throne in Chicago (and one of the most powerful in the country) up for grabs, council leaders citywide began fighting each other to fill the mayoral vacuum. But Bilandic had strong ties to the Daley family, and it was he who received their powerful support, ultimately gaining the mayoral seat.

Like the rest of his life, Bilandic's rise and fall as Mayor of Chicago is an interesting one, and his term was definitely not without its share of accomplishments. He organized the first "ChicagoFest," arranged city-insured, low-interest mortgage loans for middle-income families, and lent his support to the Chicago Marathon, becoming an avid runner in the process.

But Bilandic couldn't escape (or change) his bland personality, and he couldn't capture the adoration of Chicago's voters. Unlike his predecessor, Bilandic was not outspoken, brash, hotheaded, or temperamental. The drastic difference in personalities swayed Chicagoans into thinking that his grip on the City's politics was less than inspiring.

The confidence of Chicago's citizens was further weakened when Bilandic began making several changes in the City's command structure, theoretically an effort to strengthen the then-battered Democratic Party. He appointed Thomas Donovan as his patronage chief. As a result, many considered Donovan to be the real leader during the Bilandic administration.

For all his accomplishments, Bilandic took a false step. He ousted Jane Byrne as commissioner of the city's Department of Consumer Sales, Weights and Measures, which forced her to relinquish her position as co-chairman of the Cook County Regular Democratic Organization's Central Committee. This woke a sleeping giant.

During the 1979 primary, Byrne went on the warpath. Her attacks on Bilandic and his administration were so violent that several times Bilandic appeared to be on the brink of tears as he compared her attacks (combined with brutal media criticism) to the crucifixion of Christ, the holocaust in Nazi Germany, and the plight of blacks during slavery.

Bilandic's luck had run out. Besides the wrath of Jane Byrne, Old Man Winter had it in for him as well. During the heat of the race for the Democratic primary nomination, the "Blizzards of  '79" descended on Chicago.

The city was buried, and it took days and days for city services to get things out from under the snow and moving again. The electorate blamed Bilandic, not his subordinates, for the poorly handled and slow clean-up. It was the straw that broke the camel's back.

It also set a precedent: every Chicago mayor since Michael Bilandic keeps a very keen eye on the weather, and the Dept. of Streets and Sanitation close at hand.

Bilandic ended up losing the primary to Byrne (who went on to become Chicago's first female mayor) and went back into private law practice. Although he maintained his Bridgeport home, he and his family spent most of their time in the Gold Coast apartment he also owned.

He was down, but not out. In 1984 Bilandic successfully ran (without Democratic Party backing) for a spot on the Illinois Appellate Court's First District, which covers Cook County.

Amazingly, in 1990, and at the age of 67, Bilandic ran for a 10-year term on the Illinois Supreme Court (this time slated by the Democratic Party).

During the 1990 campaign, other candidates for the Supreme Court position spoke of the need for court reforms, but Bilandic was more concerned about the law and making complex legal issues understandable to everyone. He brought his appellate court opinions home for his wife to read. If she didn't understand them, he threw them out and started over.

His former "drab" personality was being replaced with one of a "regular guy." Greatly helping his own case, Bilandic spent $32,000 of his own funds on the campaign and refused to accept campaign contributions.

It paid off. He won again, and served on the Illinois Supreme Court for the next ten years.

Sadly, on January 14, 2002 and at the age of 78, Bilandic was admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He'd suffered what doctors described as a "mild" heart attack, and was scheduled to undergo a triple coronary bypass operation the next day.

But to everyone's surprise, former Mayor Michael A. Bilandic died before the operation could take place, victim of a rare heart rupture. He was remembered by many politicians of every level, as a brilliant man, an extremely hard worker, a great lawyer, and a very good politician. But of everything said of him, most frequently was heard, "Mike Bilandic was a really nice guy."