William M Daley

Early life and education

He was born in Chicago, Illinois, the seventh and youngest child of the late Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley and Eleanor "Sis" Daley. He is the brother of former Illinois legislator John P. Daley and former Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley.

He graduated from St. Ignatius College Prep in 1966, with a B.A. from Loyola University Chicago, and a J.D. from John Marshall Law School. Daley later accepted an honorary Doctor of Law degree from John Marshall Law School. Except for a period from 1977 to 1980, during which time he sat on the Advisory Council of Economic Opportunity, he practiced law privately with the firm Daley and George.

Professional career

He became associated with Amalgamated Bank of Chicago, where he was first vice chairman (1989–1990) and then president and chief operating officer (1990–1993). Daley returned to the practice of law, as a partner with the firm Mayer, Brown & Platt from 1993 to 1997.

Daley was appointed to the board of Fannie Mae in 1993 by President Bill Clinton, serving until 1997.

In December 2001, following his service as U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President Clinton, he was appointed to a newly created position as President of SBC Communications to help reform the company's image. In May 2004, Daley was appointed Midwest Chairman of JPMorgan Chase, following its acquisition of Bank One Corporation. In 2007, Daley was appointed as head of the Corporate Responsibility program, a position he held until 2010. Daley formerly served on the Board of Directors of Boeing, Merck & Co., Boston Properties, and Loyola University Chicago. He is currently a trustee of Northwestern University and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In 2010, he received the Chicago History Museum "Making History Award" for Distinction in Civic Leadership. In 2014 he joined Argentiere Capital as a managing partner.

Clinton administration

In 1993, he served as Special Counsel to the President on issues relating to the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In 1997, Daley became U.S. Secretary of Commerce in the second Clinton administration, remaining at that post until July 2000.

Presidential politics

Daley resigned as commerce secretary to become chairman of Vice President Al Gore's presidential campaign, replacing Tony Coelho. He was portrayed in the HBO film Recount, about the Florida election recount of the 2000 presidential election, by actor Mitch Pileggi.

During the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries, Daley was a prominent supporter of Barack Obama. On November 5, 2008, Daley was named to the advisory board of the Obama-Biden Transition Project.

Obama administration

On January 6, 2011 President Barack Obama named Daley as his next White House Chief of Staff, and he took office on January 13, 2011. Daley succeeded Rahm Emanuel, who served as Chief of Staff during the first two years of the President's term and left the position in October 2010 to run to succeed Daley's brother as Mayor of Chicago, and Pete Rouse, who was serving as the interim Chief of Staff.

In March 2011, speaking for the Obama administration on Meet the Press, Daley said the administration will consider using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve if rising oil prices caused by Arab Spring threaten the U.S. economy. Daley said Obama "is very concerned; we're trying to look at all the possible options." He repeated the administration's stance that there is enough output capacity in the world to deal with any disruptions from Libya.

Daley was photographed in the White House Situation Room photograph taken on May 1, 2011 by Pete Souza. Later in May 2011, he was part of the Presidential State Visit to the United Kingdom.

In October 2011, Daley said he planned to return home to Chicago after President Obama made it through his re-election. "I made a commitment to put the president through his re-election, which I'm confident he will do, and then my wife and I will be back in Chicago."

On January 9, 2012, it was announced that Daley would resign as Obama's Chief of Staff. Jacob Lew was announced as his successor.

Post Obama administration

Just after the 2012 presidential election, in the November 8, 2012 issue of the Chicago Tribune, Daley was reported as considering a run in the 2014 election for Governor of Illinois. Daley said "I've thought about it before and I don't take it off the table. I think right now, to be very frank with you, the last thing in the world anybody wants to hear about is a race that's two years down the road." Daley further was quoted as saying: "I'm not closing the door and, I know that sounds like a politician, but the fact of the matter is that these are tough days and I think there's a lot to be done by the Legislature. I don't think it helps right now for people to be out there saying they're going to run and they have a solution at this point. I think we've got to see what the Legislature does."

2014 Illinois gubernatorial campaign

On June 10, 2013, Daley announced via YouTube that he would launch an exploratory committee to run for governor. On July 2, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed Daley for governor. On July 30, Daley filed documents declaring himself an official candidate to challenge incumbent Illinois Governor Pat Quinn in the 2014 Democratic Primary. On September 16, Daley made a surprise announcement that he was exiting the race for Illinois Governor due to the personal hardships inherent in running a campaign for elective office.