At Issue preview: a look at the investments made in Chicago's West Side

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A new book on Mayor Richard M. Daley's time in office shows how Michael Jordan and the Democratic Party set the stage for development of the West Side and last week's DNC.

In his new book, “The Daley Show: Inside the Transformative Reign of Chicago's Richard M. Daley”, former Richard Daley Chief of Staff, and CTA President, Forrest Claypool notes the Near West Side was once a seedy industrial area. But then, The Chicago Bulls acquired a point guard named Michael Jordan, and the resulting dynasty led to building the United Center and attracting the 1996 Democratic National Convention.

“Daley used that as an opportunity to completely rebuild the near West Side and beautify it, and invested enormous amounts of money in doing so,” Claypool said.

“And by the end of that process of those two things, the near West side became another economic engine and it's completely transformed today with condos and restaurants and, and and all kinds of you know, if we look at Fulton market today, it's the hottest market in the city of Chicago.”

And now there've been two successful conventions there.

Former Richard Daley Chief of Staff, and Public Schools chief Forrest Claypool says the sports deal helped then Mayor Richard M Daley start the ball rolling on near West Side development.

In his new book, Claypool notes the Fulton Market area's now one of the City's hottest, as last week's Democratic National Convention showed.

We talk about the reign of Mayor Richard M. Daley on our At Issue program this weekend and you can hear more Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m.

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