Back when cable was in its infancy in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, WGN’s 9 PM news was a “must watch” for me and Mrs. abb. There was a commentator named Lynn O’Connor who was an absolute treasure to watch and listen to. I remember well that snowstorm and campaign that put Jane Byrne in office.
Whatever her faults were Byrne really is the mother of modern Chicago. In the ‘70s, the Chicago downtown area was a dead zone - people spent as little time as possible there. Byrne brought in Taste of Chicago and various other festivals that made people actually want to go downtown and live there. The modern day Loop is a world class thriving metropolitan area because of a process that she started.
It was Len O’Connor.