Jay McMullen was an American journalist. He was a Chicago City Hall reporter for the Chicago Daily News for nearly quarter of a century. He also worked as a real estate writer for the Chicago Sun-Times for many years.
McMullen married Jane Byrne in 1978 on St. Patrick's Day. The following year, Jane Byrne became the Mayor of Chicago.
Byrne served as the Mayor of Chicago from 1979-1983, McMullen was a close advisor to his wife during those years. He also served as her Press Secretary during her first year in office.
∼
OBITUARIES
March 20, 1992 - Chicago Tribune
Jay McMullen, 71, the flamboyant husband of former Chicago Mayor Jane M. Byrne, died on Wednesday in Chicago after a long fight with cancer.
The Near North Side resident was equally controversial in his more than 23 years as a City Hall reporter for the Chicago Daily News and as a real estate writer for the Chicago Sun-Times.
A 1979 People magazine article called him Byrne`s ``irrepressibly raffish sidekick`` and ``one of the most colorful characters in Chicago journalism since The Front Page.``
Mr. McMullen went from news writer to newsmaker when he courted, wed and eventually was hired for $1 a year to advise Mayor Jane Byrne during her often chaotic four-year term as Chicago`s mayor from 1979 to 1983.
As a young reporter, he had managed to get Ellen Borden Stevenson, former wife of presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson II, to discuss their marital troubles.
In the City Hall press room, where he worked for the Daily News, he was known as a man with a quick quip and a knowledge of the workings of city government that many times rivaled that of the politicians he covered.
In 1958, Mr. McMullen received a Chicago Newspaper Guild Award, which cited him for ``combining the amusing and the significant`` in his coverage of City Hall. He also won a Jacob Scher Award for investigative reporting.
Marrying Jane Byrne a year before she was elected mayor in a surprise victory over incumbent Michael Bilandic, Mr. McMullen often engaged in highly publicized confrontations with reporters, serving as the mayor`s ``tough guy`` when she thought she was being unfairly maligned by the media. He managed to maintain good relationships with many of those he had known as a reporter, however.
His stint as press secretary ended after a year when his high profile was deemed to be too high even for Byrne, but Mr. McMullen continued to be a trusted behind-the-scenes adviser, giving advice and strategy in Byrne`s unsuccessful comeback bids during the `80s.
~•●~~~•●~~~ஜ۩۞۩ஜ●•~~~●•~~~●•~~~•●~~~•●~~~ஜ۩۞۩ஜ●•~~~●•~~~●•~
Jay McMullen was an American journalist. He was a Chicago City Hall reporter for the Chicago Daily News for nearly quarter of a century. He also worked as a real estate writer for the Chicago Sun-Times for many years.
McMullen married Jane Byrne in 1978 on St. Patrick's Day. The following year, Jane Byrne became the Mayor of Chicago.
Byrne served as the Mayor of Chicago from 1979-1983, McMullen was a close advisor to his wife during those years. He also served as her Press Secretary during her first year in office.
∼
OBITUARIES
March 20, 1992 - Chicago Tribune
Jay McMullen, 71, the flamboyant husband of former Chicago Mayor Jane M. Byrne, died on Wednesday in Chicago after a long fight with cancer.
The Near North Side resident was equally controversial in his more than 23 years as a City Hall reporter for the Chicago Daily News and as a real estate writer for the Chicago Sun-Times.
A 1979 People magazine article called him Byrne`s ``irrepressibly raffish sidekick`` and ``one of the most colorful characters in Chicago journalism since The Front Page.``
Mr. McMullen went from news writer to newsmaker when he courted, wed and eventually was hired for $1 a year to advise Mayor Jane Byrne during her often chaotic four-year term as Chicago`s mayor from 1979 to 1983.
As a young reporter, he had managed to get Ellen Borden Stevenson, former wife of presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson II, to discuss their marital troubles.
In the City Hall press room, where he worked for the Daily News, he was known as a man with a quick quip and a knowledge of the workings of city government that many times rivaled that of the politicians he covered.
In 1958, Mr. McMullen received a Chicago Newspaper Guild Award, which cited him for ``combining the amusing and the significant`` in his coverage of City Hall. He also won a Jacob Scher Award for investigative reporting.
Marrying Jane Byrne a year before she was elected mayor in a surprise victory over incumbent Michael Bilandic, Mr. McMullen often engaged in highly publicized confrontations with reporters, serving as the mayor`s ``tough guy`` when she thought she was being unfairly maligned by the media. He managed to maintain good relationships with many of those he had known as a reporter, however.
His stint as press secretary ended after a year when his high profile was deemed to be too high even for Byrne, but Mr. McMullen continued to be a trusted behind-the-scenes adviser, giving advice and strategy in Byrne`s unsuccessful comeback bids during the `80s.
~•●~~~•●~~~ஜ۩۞۩ஜ●•~~~●•~~~●•~~~•●~~~•●~~~ஜ۩۞۩ஜ●•~~~●•~~~●•~
