Just before the City Council on Wednesday approved legislation allows the plaza next to the Magnificent Mile’s historic Water Tower to be named after former Mayor Jane Byrne, the Chicago Sun-Times published five interesting facts about the city’s first and only female mayor.
No. 5 on the Sun-Times’ list was a story about a meeting between Bryne and the late John Belushi during which the latter sough permission to film the “Blues Brothers” film in Chicago.
Byrne told the Chicago Tribune in 2010 that Belushi appeared nervous during the meeting, and she noted the actor “looked kind of fat, a sweaty guy already, but he wore a suit jacket and I thought he looked sick, to be honest. To the point that his hair was getting wet. I was a fan of his. But, of course, I wasn't going to say this right away."
After Byrne gave her permission, Belushi kept rambling on. When he said he wanted to crash a car through a window in Daley Plaza for the film, Byne said she was definitely sold.
“I remember what was in my mind as he said it. I had the whole 11th Ward against me anyway, and most of Daley's people against me,” she said. “They owned this city for years, so when Belushi asked me to drive a car through Daley Plaza, the only thing I could say was, 'Be my guest!'”
Visit the Sun-Times for more on Byrne.
-Tom Butala