Richard Mell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Richard F. "Dick" Mell (born May 5, 1938) is an American politician and long-time member of the Chicago City Council. He is a Democrat. Mell is the chairman of the Rules Committee and has a history of feuding with Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.
Mell was born and raised in Muskegon, Michigan. 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 Democratic Committeeman, losing by about 500 votes. In 1975, he was elected Alderman of the 33rd Ward (map); in 1976 he was also elected ward committeeman. His ward comprises part of Chicago's Northwest Side.
During the Council Wars of the mid-1980s, Mell was allied with the Vrdolyak 29 who opposed then-mayor Harold Washington. However, after the 1986 court-ordered aldermanic elections, he offered to cooperate with Washington.
Dick and Marge Mell have three children: Patricia, Deborah, and Richard. His daughter Patricia is married to Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Marge Mell died Dec. 3, 2006, of a brain disease.
Mell was a driving force behind Blagojevich's successful gubernatorial campaign in 2002. However, in 2005, Blagojevich and Mell had a public feud when Blagojevich shut down a landfill owned by a distant cousin of Patricia Blagojevich for environmental problems. It was later revealed that Mell had served as an advisor to the cousin. Legislation was eventually passed giving the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency more authority over landfills and preventing relatives of top Illinois officials from owning landfills.
In June 2005, Mell served as honorary co-chairman of an event for State Representative Jack Franks, a longtime Blagojevich critic who had been rumored as a possible primary challenger to the Governor. Mell's other daughter, Deborah, is a lesbian who has encouraged Blagojevich to support same-sex marriage, a position the governor opposes.
