Friends Janet Murphy and Randy Jonas were bemoaning the negative coverage of Mayor Richard Daley amid the ongoing corruption scandals at City Hall. Then they hatched a plan.
They recruited their friend Diane Ciral, and the three Chicagoans spent $1,500 of their own money on 5,000 “Support Our Mayor” buttons. They say they have no ties to political groups and have never worked for the mayor or his campaign.
“This is not a campaign,” said Ciral, 70. “This is just to show our support as citizens, which we have a right to do.”
The trio spent Friday on Michigan Avenue passing out the buttons, which feature a picture of the Chicago skyline but not the mayor or his name. Many pedestrians passed by without taking the offering or just stuck out their hand and kept walking.
But some stopped to talk.
“I love what he’s done for the city,” said Yvonne Jones, 66, of Evanston, who happily accepted a button. “I feel badly that he’s being beleaguered.”