Since Richard M. Daley became mayor of Chicago in 1989, the city has planted 400,000 trees and begun an effort to attract renewable energy companies and create a sustainable landscaping industry. He built the first municipal rooftop garden on City Hall and one of only five U.S. buildings to receive the Platinum rating from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).

Mayor Daley also commissioned the construction of Millennium Park, the acclaimed showplace of architecture and the arts which features monuments and public spaces designed by Frank Gehry, Anish Kapoor, Jaume Plensa, and Kathryn Gustafson. “Richard Daley embodies the type of design champion that all cities should be fortunate enough to have,” said Cooper-Hewitt director Paul Warwick Thompson. “His leadership addresses the present needs of Chicago without neglecting future environmental concerns.”

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