in daily was first elected mayor of Chicago in 1989.

It was a time of fractious racially polarized politics at City Hall and violence that had one newspaper dubbing the city Beirut on the lake.

But despite the challenges, the younger Mayor, Daley would go on to eclipse the record of his father, the original Mayor Richard J Daily winning 6 consecutive terms as Mayor Forrest Claypool served twice as his chief of staff and had a unique perspective on his leadership.

He's out now with a new book painting a behind the scenes portrait of Chicago's longest serving mayor.

The book is called The Daily Show Inside the transformative reign of Chicago's Richard in daily.

Joining us now is Forrest Claypool, former chief of staff to both Mayor Richard in daily and Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Claypool also served as the CEO of the Chicago Park District.

The Chicago Transit Authority and Chicago Public Schools just to name a few for us.

Welcome back, Chicago tonight.

Thanks, branch for having Of as we mentioned, you know, you've had some decades of public service.

I know you, of course, from your time at but even quiet the last 7 years or so.

Why did you want to write this book?

>> Mostly because I was upset at what was happening in the city and in the intervening years I just thought that people have forgotten the lessons of good municipal governance and people forgotten what 1989 was like as you just previewed, we have a violent endemic crime schools were bankrupt and the worst dropout rate in the nation of considered the worst schools in the country.

According the U.S. Department of Education, businesses leaving in droves you people leaving in droves, jobs, declining low quality of life, homelessness and graffiti.

And I begin to yeah, for 22 years, despite setbacks, despite calamities, despite scandals, Mayor reform, the city turned around so that by 2010 Foreign Policy magazine said that Chicago was the 6 most important city in the world and the search see this decline since then where the schools are in chaos again, businesses and people are leaving and rose again.

Crime is endemic again.

It was it was upsetting.

So I thought the book was turned the cathartic way say history is important.

We should learn from history and there's lessons there.

>> So, of course, this your book at looks at Richard in Daley's renew, of course, had a ringside seat to that and participating in that.

How would you assess the younger Mayor, Mayor Daley's leadership skills?

>> Well, he had an extraordinary combination of political act come in and municipal management insights urban planning vision.

And but he also hadn't had weaknesses.

And, you know, he he but he attracted great people.

and that was important when you have a vision and people believe that you're you can accomplish Attract high caliber people who have accomplished great things that are several stories in the book area where a single individuals were responsible for changing history.

One person was responsible for land being acquired one park which are by thought for 30, 40, 50 years was owned by the on a Central railroad.

One person walked the Republicans from taking over O'Hare Airport, which would have been a shadow of itself today and out of the economic impact on the city.

But those people were working for him because they were attracted to that vision.

They could.

They were good a minute making tons of money elsewhere.

So he had great ability attract good people.

He let them run with the football.

He didn't try to micromanage done and had a vision to guide them.

I take it.

You're probably among those folks who are attracted to vision.

>> Absolutely.

you know, you really wanted to go and work every day because you knew what he was trying to do to improve the city.

>> Didn't always get it right.

And time went by, he actually, you know, detracted lesson list, how the people that hurt him.

And that was because of his own hubris.

I mean, the book details, some big scandals that came on later in his tenure that not only threaten his mayoralty but threatens freedom.

You know that the former prosecutor had to hire white collar criminal defense attorney to represent him as the FBI questioned him about this corruption.

The news from every part of his administration.

And that's just start underscores the old adage that, you know, power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts.

Absolutely.

And it's not a surprise that those scandals emerged when he was at the very height his popularity and power.

>> You mentioned, you know, sort of his his weaknesses shortcomings, detail in the book how he ignored and sought to bury evidence of police torture both as Cook County State's attorney.

And then later is mayor you write, quote, Chicago's racial conflicts are seemingly indelible stain on the city and specter that haunted Richard in daily throughout his public career.

How would you assess his record on race?

>> Well, that was certainly perhaps the biggest staying of all of but by same token, as you pointed out in your intro when he took office, it was a time of great racial conflict.

Counsel wars were literally were divided between black and white.

action of white aldermen trying to block the first African-American mayor from succeeding.

he turned that He came into office running on a platform of racial reconciliation and he was true to his word and this time taught us we can work together and unify the city when he left office.

President Obama said, you know, that he united the city in the way that probably no one else could have.

>> He also facing financial challenges.

Here is a clip of former Chicago Mayor Daley talking in 2010 about those.

>> You have to bite the bullet.

These are difficult decisions and you have to make and sometimes you have to cut things out.

Sometimes you have to hold back and that spending you have to do these things.

If you want to balance a budget, you keep borrowing money just like foreclosure.

You keep borrowing money.

Someone has to pay it back.

Eventually who's going to pay it back is going to my child, my grandchild, a great grandchild.

And that's the big question.

Everybody has to ask.

>> So critics say the root of some of Chicago's many financial problems today can be traced back to Mayor Daley from the much maligned or is the parking meter deal overly generous public sector pay and pension awards that have settled the city with some massive pension debt.

Do you think that's fair criticism?

I think that's half true.

I think there's I think it's half reasonable.

He's in the last 7 years of his administration alone teacher salaries.

That CPS rose 50%.

For example, he was obsessed.

>> With labor peace.

And of course, that's one reason the pensions of continued going, although I would point out as they do in the book that the pension benefits are set by General Assembly Springfield, not by the mayor and over a period of about 20 years.

increased pension benefits 1000% and strict in Chicago, even as incomes of families went up 100%.

So, you know, more blame goes to Springfield into the mayor and that front.

But, you know, I so I do think, though, that also that in the parking meters and those other things, bad deal clearly, but it was at the very bottom of the Great Recession when the when the economy was at its nadir, people are losing their homes because joblessness was.

And he was looking with the council to try weather that storm without having to shut down department or lay off police officers.

>> So you've of course, he won many hats, as we mentioned as a public servant, including being CEO Chicago, Public Schools, which you referenced briefly in your book, your departure from CPS as unfair CPS inspector general at the time accused of lying to cover up an ethics investigation and he recommended your termination.

How do you look back on that time and your legacy as a public servant?

Sure things that I think is a good reflection.

And I do address in the up along Unser the Times we live in where >> there's kind of a Tennessee sometimes for special interests or politically ambitious people to cut operate in concert with reporter says sometimes exaggerate or create fake news that then takes on a life of its own.

And that certainly was the case with me.

But what I was accused of was allowing my general counsel to oversee is a law firm, even though that law firm whispers providing the services for free so technically violated.

An ethics said that he shouldn't be able to oversee is a law firm says he was going retirement benefits.

But I think most people would understand that if a law firm Israeli representing kids and giving up a million dollars, which is what Jenner and what they give up a million dollars in legal fees to help kids.

But that's hardly an ethics violation or just say is next for for ally.

Well, nothing really.

You know, this book was I think I hope is an important contribution.

I hope people read it and >> and take lessons from You know, I continue to case in dropping off that as he did Chicago Tribune recently about like I care very deeply that was happening.

The city obviously have opinions based on experience.

But I'm I look to hopefully new generation of leadership that comes along to fix some of these problems that we're experiencing today.

So we'll have to leave it for us label.

Thanks for joining us.

Thank you.

Again, the book