THE MIGHTY PIN
Check the coat, please. It’s a stunner. It’s no secret (Sneed scoop Nov. 14) Kathy Byrne, the daughter of Chicago’s only female mayor — Jane Byrne — is the chairperson of mayoral candidate Susana Mendoza’s campaign.
But if you look real close — you might spot more of a Byrne connection on Mendoza’s lapel.
Sneed has learned Mendoza — Kathy says she’s as “gutsy” as her mother — is now wearing the pin Jane wore the day she was elected mayor of Chicago back in 1979. (Mayor Byrne served from 1979-83.)
“I will look at this pin every morning as I start my day to get inspired by a woman who dared to challenge the status quo and opened the door for a little girl from Little Village to someday run for mayor of this great city.”
Reached by phone, Kathy — who is “thrilled to work for the second woman who may become mayor of Chicago” — told Sneed the pin was an unexpected gift to Mendoza, thought of at the last minute.
“It’s a pin my grandfather, Bill Burke, who died in 1986, gave my mother the day she won the primary in 1979,” said Kathy.
“He was so proud of my mom, so he had a jeweler make a pin of the Chicago skyline in a gold circle with jewel highlights placed in the windows of the building.
“Mom was proud of that pin and I believe she wore it on the day she was sworn in,” she added. “It was her good-luck charm, and after mom died, it became my goodluck charm whenever I had big motions in court,” added Kathy, an attorney.
“It’s a historic piece of jewelry, so when Susana asked me to go with her when she filed her petitions recently, she noticed the pin and asked me about it.
“I told her it was my mom’s and just-like-that decided on the spot Susana could use it now — should wear it for now. It symbolizes the city. I told her, ‘It’ll bring you luck like it did Mom. Like it did me.’”
The caveat: “She had to give it back to me as soon as she won the election!”
Kathy claims Mendoza was “astonished and thrilled and her eyes filled up with tears.”
Then she added: “Like I said before, I’ve been impressed with Susana for a long time. She has got some strength [to stand up] against all the bully boys.”
Arbor Day . . .
Not yet.
It’s 186 days and counting for 82-year-old former Chicago Board of Trade Chairman Patrick Arbor, who is being held in the hospital section of Cook County Jail due to contempt of court citations — stemming from his failure to satisfy a $17 million divorce judgment.
So how is Arbor, whom the judge considers a flight risk, doing?
“He’s pale and drawn and arrives to court in a wheelchair,” said Arbor’s attorney, Howard Rosenfeld. His next court date is Dec. 20 — just before Christmas. And we believe we have now complied with all the documents the court requested.”
Stay tuned.
Fly ’em . . .
Rahm at the ready: Opera singer Renee Fleming, who has made the Lyric Opera in Chicago her artistic home as a creative consultant, was spotted chatting it up with Mayor Rahm Emanuel on a flight back to Chicago Thursday night and preparing to receive a huge report from hizzoner on arts education in Chicago Public Schools.
Say whaaa . . .
Sneed’s “foxier than a box of rocks” award goes to Hillary Clinton — ducking confirmation she is eyeing another presidential bid — on her response this week to Frank McKenna, former Canadian ambassador to the U.S.
Quoth Clinton: “Actually Frank, I am thinking about standing for Parliament here in Canada.”
Sneedlings . . .
I spy: Actor Vincent “The Sopranos” Pastore recently spotted at Gibsons . . . . Ditto for former NFL and “Dancing With the Stars” champ Emmitt Smith, former Buffalo Bill Andre Reed, and Boston Red Sox legend Wade Boggs . . . . Saturday’s birthdays: Janelle Monae, 33; Zoe Kravitz, 30; and Javier Baez, 26 . . . . Sunday’s birthdays: Britney Spears, 37; Lucy Liu, 50; Aaron Rodgers, 35, and happy early 80th birthday to Jerry and Christina O’Connor.