Editing Richard J. Daley (section)

===Early career===
[[File:Richard_J._Daley,_1936.png|thumb|Daley at the time of his appointment as Chief Deputy County Comptroller, 1936]]
Daley's career in politics began when he became a Democratic [[precinct captain]]. Having served as secretary for previous County Treasurers Joseph B. McDonough, Thomas D. Nash, Robert M. Sweitzer, and Joseph L. Gill, he was appointed the Chief Deputy Comptroller of Cook County on December 17, 1936, to replace Michael J. O'Connor, who had died on December 9.<ref name="Chief Deputy Comptroller"/>

Daley's first elective office was in the [[Illinois House of Representatives]], to which he was elected for the 9th district on November 3, 1936,<ref name="Chief Deputy Comptroller">{{cite news |title=Richard J. Daly ''[sic]'' is named Chief Deputy County Controler ''[sic]'' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101699940/richard-j-daly-is-named-chief-deputy/ |access-date=2022-05-11 |work=The Chicago Tribune |volume=95 |issue=303C |page=2 |date=December 18, 1936 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> alongside Democratic incumbents William J. Gormley and Peter P. Jezierny.<ref name="House election">{{cite news |title=Democrats Hold Firm Control of State Assembly |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101700012/democrats-hold-firm-control-of-state/ |access-date=2022-05-11 |work=The Decatur Daily Review |volume=59 |issue=36 |page=10 |date=November 5, 1936 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Despite being a lifelong Democrat, he was elected to the office as a Republican.<ref name="House election"/> This was a matter of political opportunism and the peculiar setup for legislative elections in [[Illinois]] at the time, which allowed Daley to take the place on the ballot of the recently deceased [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] candidate [[David Shanahan (politician)|David Shanahan]]. Daley's name was not printed on the ballot due to the closeness of Shanahan's death to the election, but he was able to defeat Shanahan's friend Robert E. Rodgers.<ref name="House election"/>

[[File:Richard J. Daley circa 1937.jpg|thumb|official portrait, circa 1937]]
After his election, Daley quickly moved back to the Democratic side of the aisle. After the death of incumbent Democratic Senator Patrick J. Carroll in 1938, Daley was elected to the [[Illinois Senate]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Rhoads|first=Mark|title=Illinois Hall of Fame: Richard J. Daley|date=November 16, 2016|work=Illinois Review|access-date=June 21, 2020|url=https://www.illinoisreview.com/illinoisreview/2006/11/illinois_hall_o_14.html}}</ref><ref>[http://www.idaillinois.org/cdm/ref/collection/bb/id/20008 Illinois Blue Book 1937–1938], p. 151.</ref> That year Gormley and Jezierny were successfully reelected with Republican [[William S. Finucane]] taking the third spot.<ref>[http://www.idaillinois.org/cdm/ref/collection/bb/id/22854 Illinois Blue Book 1939–1940], p. 163.</ref> In 1939, Illinois State Senator [[William J. Connors|William "Botchy" Connors]] remarked of Daley: "You couldn't give that guy a nickel, that's how honest he is."{{sfn|Royko|1971|p=53|ps=none}} Daley served as Minority Leader of the Illinois Senate from 1941 through 1946.<ref name="CPL"/> He suffered his only political defeat in [[1946 Cook County, Illinois elections|1946]], when he lost a bid to become Cook County sheriff.<ref name="Bio"/>

In the late 1940s, Daley became Democratic Ward Committeeman of the [[11th Ward, Chicago|11th Ward]], a post he retained until his death. He was appointed by Governor [[Adlai Stevenson II]] as head of the Illinois Department of Finance, serving in that role from 1949 through 1950,<ref name="Bio"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Richard J. Daley, director of budgets {{!}} Remembering Richard J. Daley |url=https://rjd.library.uic.edu/richard-j-daley-director-of-budgets/ |website=rjd.library.uic.edu| publisher=University of Illinois Chicago |access-date=27 May 2020 |date=26 July 2017}}</ref> the year he made a successful run for [[Cook County Clerk]]. Daley held that position until being elected Chicago's mayor.<ref name="Bio"/><ref name="CPL">{{cite web |title=Mayor Richard J. Daley Biography |url=https://www.chipublib.org/mayor-richard-j-daley-biography/ |website=www.chipublib.org |publisher=Chicago Public Library |access-date=27 May 2020}}</ref>

[[File:11th Ward - "Daley Machine" HQ.jpg|thumb|[[11th Ward, Chicago|11th Ward]] Democratic committee office, [[Bridgeport]], Chicago]]

Daley became chairman of the Central Committee of the [[Cook County Democratic Party]], i.e., [[political boss|boss]] of the [[political machine]], in 1953.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1722.html|title=Daley's Chicago|website=Encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org|access-date=April 17, 2018}}</ref> Holding this position along with the mayoralty in later years enhanced Daley's power. A recorded phone conversation that Daley had with [[President of the United States|President]] [[Lyndon Johnson]] on January 27, 1968, revealed that despite his Irish Catholic background, Daley also privately had at times tense relations with the [[Kennedy family]] and that he had declined an offer to vote against President [[Harry Truman]] when he was serving as a delegate at the [[1948 Democratic National Convention]].<ref name=jan2768>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/0tc0wT9P7nc Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20200301160404/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tc0wT9P7nc Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tc0wT9P7nc&t=367s| title = LBJ and Richard Daley, 1/27/68, 10.58A. | website=[[YouTube]]| date = September 6, 2013 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>