Considered one of America’s great mayors, Richard J. Daley served as mayor of his native Chicago for 21 years (1955-1976). He is remembered as the last “big boss” of Chicago politics, exerting a heavy hand on city politics and enjoying both state and national influence. He is credited with having delivered the State of Illinois to John F. Kennedy during the 1960 presidential election and is often regarded as having prevented the city form succumbing to economic decline in the 1960s and 1970s. His tenure was marked by corruption scandals, of which he himself was never implicated, disturbances at the 1968 Democratic National Convention and rioting following Dr. King’s assassination. In 1966 King waged a campaign in Chicago to address entrenched segregation. Mayor Daley died in office.