Richard Mell | |
|---|---|
| 2ndVice Mayor of Chicago | |
| In office April 16, 1979 – April 24, 1987 | |
| Mayor | Jane Byrne Harold Washington |
| Preceded by | Casey Laskowski |
| Succeeded by | David Orr |
| Member of theChicago City Council from the 33rd ward | |
| In office 1975 – July 24, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | John Brandt |
| Succeeded by | Deb Mell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1938-05-05)May 5, 1938 (age 87) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Marge Mell |
| Children | 3, includingDeb andPatricia |
| Relatives | Rod Blagojevich (son-in-law) |
Richard F. "Dick" Mell (born May 5, 1938) is an Americanpolitician. ADemocrat, he served on theChicago City Council from 1975 to 2013. He retired in 2013 and was succeeded byDeb Mell, his daughter.
Mell was born and raised inMuskegon,Michigan, where he attended high school and college.[1]
After college, he settled in Chicago with his wife Marge and opened a spring manufacturing business. He also became active in local politics. In 1972, Mell was an unsuccessful candidate for 33rd Ward DemocraticCommitteeman, losing by about 500 votes. In 1975, he was electedAlderman of the 33rd Ward of the City ofChicago. In 1976, he was also elected ward committeeman. His ward comprised part of Chicago's Northwest Side.
In 1979, Mell was elected by the City Council to serve as the city's vice mayor. He held this position until April 1987.[2]
During theCouncil Wars of the mid-1980s, Mell was allied with theVrdolyak 29 who opposed then-MayorHarold Washington. After the Vrdolyak 29 lost their majority in the city council in the 1986 court-ordered aldermanic elections, Mell offered to cooperate with Washington. Upon Washington's death in 1987, Mell famously stood on his desk in the City Council chambers, demanding to be recognized as the divided council wrestled with the question of who would succeed Washington.
In a 1982 handgun ban ordinance that Mell had himself authored, new pistol registrations had been prohibited with existing handgun registrations prior to 1982 allowed to renew. All new registration attempts since 1982 were disallowed. However, in 2007, Mell failed to re-register his extensive firearms collection (which included handguns) as then required by city ordinance. As a result, Mell, along withChicago MayorRichard M. Daley, proposed a one-month amnesty, where the gun registry would be re-opened. Mell claimed that thousands of Chicagoans were in his situation and would benefit, but just 25 people (including Mell) successfully registered guns during the "amnesty."[3][4] Chicago's handgun ban was struck down in 2011 by the United States Supreme Court inMcDonald v. City of Chicago.
In December 2008, MayorRichard M. Daley gave the city council three days to consider the complicated and lengthy contract to privatize the city's parking meters for 75 years.[5] The city council ultimately approved the deal by a vote of 40 to 5.[6]
On July 3, 2013, Mell submitted his letter of resignation, effective July 24, 2013.[7] MayorRahm Emanuel appointed Mell's daughter Deb as Mell's successor as alderman from the 33rd ward.
Dick and Marge Mell have three children:Patricia,Deborah, and Richard. His daughter Patricia is married to former Illinois GovernorRod Blagojevich. His daughter Deb was elected to thestate house of representatives in 2008 and appointed to theChicago City Council in 2013. Marge Mell died December 3, 2006, ofprogressive supranuclear palsy, a rare and fatal disease.