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Millennium City: Richard M. Daley & Global ChicagoMain MenuChicago in 1989Richard M. DaleyA Livable CityDiversity and NeighborhoodsGlobal ChicagoInto the MillenniumAboutComplete Interviews and TranscriptsBiographies of and links to each full-lenth interview and corresponding transcript.Larissa Mukundwa0c6cb03c337751b5774fa39d09352cf04aec006eDan Harpereff3db32ed95b3efe91d381826e2c10c145cd452University of Illinois at Chicago Library
Kelly Welsh explais the significance of the U.S. Supreme Court's Croson decision during Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley's first term in office
12020-03-06T19:00:27-06:00Anonymous53Kelly Welsh explais the significance of the U.S. Supreme Court's Croson decision during Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley's first term in office. From interview conducted January 19, 2019.plain2021-01-26T14:05:14-06:00Dan Harpereff3db32ed95b3efe91d381826e2c10c145cd452
During his tenure, Mayor Daley promoted affirmative action. He continued Chicago's Minority-Owned Business (MBE) and Women-Owned Business (WBE) programs. Mayor Harold Washington (served 1983-1987) had designed those programs to set aside a percentage of city contracts for these groups.
However, Daley’s administration also faced legal challenges. The United States Supreme Court, in its Richmond v. Croson decision (1989), created new legal requirements that cities, like Chicago, had to meet in order to sustain their set-aside programs.
Kelly Welsh, Chicago corporation counsel (1989-1993), explains the challenge posed by the Croson decision and the mayor's efforts to meet the new requirements:
Julia Stasch comments on the difficulties the affirmative action program faced later in Daley's administration:
