Former Mayor Richard M. Daley was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital Wednesday afternoon after he was feeling “out of sorts,” his longtime spokeswoman told the Sun-Times.
At the time, he was in his downtown home with his eldest daughter, Nora Daley Conroy.
He remained at Northwestern Wednesday evening, where he was “talking and alert” and in a good mood, said his former mayoral press secretary, Jacquelyn Heard, who still works with Daley at a law firm.
However, he is expected to remain at least overnight and undergo a battery of tests.
The long-serving mayor also wants everyone to know that he “really appreciates the doctors and nurses at Northwestern because they take care of him,” a source said.
He also thanked the fire department and paramedics for taking care of him during what the family is calling a “health scare.”
Daley celebrated his 80th birthday on April 24 of this year.
He has continued to be active and do workouts, although not at the same level of his physical routine before he suffered stroke-like symptoms impacting his speech in 2014.
Daley has generally kept a low profile, attending social events, including dinners at Gibson’s, but skipping political events. He has refused interview requests from reporters looking to get his take on the increase in crime during the pandemic, particularly in his downtown neighborhood.
In 1976, his father, former Mayor Richard J. Daley, suffered a heart attack and was taken by ambulance to Northwestern, where he died at age 74.
