Even after announcing that he would not run again for Chicago mayor, few were convinced that Richard M. Daley would turn into a laid back retiree.
"On the helicopter ride over here, he was still generating about 30 ideas for everything from how to get rid of rats to how to start beehives to making sure that we have bikes for every kid in the schools, so I’m skeptical he’s going to be taking a lot of time off,’’ President Barack Obama said during his last visit to Chicago.
Just 8 days after participating in Mayor Rahm Emanuel's inauguration, Daley announced that he has been named a distinguished fellow at the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy Studies.
Daley's press secretary Jackie Heard told NBC Chicago that the longest serving Chicago mayor would organize a guest lecture series for the Harris School about major issues facing cities in the 21st Century. A statement from U of C said that he would bring in "policy-makers from around the globe to debate critical urban policy challenges."
Daley called the appointment a "great honor," during a Hyde Park news conference Tuesday. He also said he would be working with his son in the future, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Though the former mayor is not the most graceful public speaker, he has also signed on with the New York-based Harry Walker Agency and will make about $50,000 per speaking engagement. Former President Bill Clinton, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and U2's Bono are also clients of the agency.
Heard, who told NBC she would work with Daley at U of C, has also said she might work on a book with her longtime boss.