More Than 100 Global and U.S. Municipal Leaders Join Mayor Daley, Business, Civic, Academic and Foundation Leaders at 2010 Richard J. Daley Global Cities Forum

CHICAGO, April 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Leaders of more than 100 global cities today joined Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley at the sixth annual Richard J. Daley Global Cities Forum (Daley Forum) at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Mayors attended from cities in Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, Euro-Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, West Asia and North America. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and other notables also participated in this year's Forum.

Entitled "New Partnerships for a New Economy: Driving Innovation in Cities," this year's Daley Forum focused on the role of public-private partnerships as a key tool to help municipal leaders continue to deliver innovative programs and services in these challenging economic times. The Forum was held in conjunction with the executive meetings of the World Organization of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG).

This year's Daley Forum drew more than 1,400 registrants from the private, civic and academic communities. The Forum represents an important collaboration between Chicago Sister Cities International, the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Daley family to honor the legacy of Richard J. Daley.

"The Richard J. Daley Forum provides an opportunity for mayors from around the nation and the world to exchange ideas and information -- and to collaborate with experts and the private sector on major issues of the day," said Mayor Richard M. Daley.

"We are thrilled this year to have UCLG bring their international perspective on local government to these important topics. By coming together, sharing innovative ideas and unleashing our entrepreneurial spirit and imagination, cities can help lead our nations to a healthy economic recovery. During good economic times and bad, cities have always been on the front line of innovative thinking. Now, because of the worldwide economic recession, cities are reinventing themselves and their economies with new ideas to help create jobs for both now and in the future. This Forum allows municipal leaders to share best practices and generate new ideas," concluded Daley.

The Daley Forum at UIC has become a prominent annual international symposium about the future of cities. As a result of the Forum and ongoing efforts by Mayor Daley, Chicago has become a key gathering place for leaders to discuss challenges affecting urban areas across the world.

"UIC has a commitment to improving the quality of urban areas around the world, and we are proud to once again host this important Forum," said Dr. Paula Allen-Meares, Chancellor of UIC. "As Chicago's only public research university, it is UIC's role to serve as a forum for candid and rigorous debate and the exchange of ideas about important public issues, including globalization and urbanization."

The event kicked off with a procession of more than 100 international municipal leaders and was followed by a video tribute to Mayor Richard J. Daley and Senator Ted Kennedy, who delivered the keynote address at the Daley Forum's inaugural gala in 2005.

The Forum included a presentation by Carol Coletta, CEO of CEO for Cities and three panels moderated by PBS NewsHour Senior Correspondent Judy Woodruff and Washington Post Writers Group Syndicated Columnist Neal Peirce.

Emanuel joined Motorola CEO Greg Brown, Mayor of Philadelphia Michael Nutter and Mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoe on the first panel entitled "Transforming Government to Promote Innovation."

The panel focused on how collaborations with cross-sector partners can help local governments overcome obstacles and transform government operations to better meet 21st-century needs and goals. Panelists discussed how these new partner collaborations offer creative solutions and untapped opportunities to address barriers to urban growth and vitality—including financial challenges and other contemporary pressures of unprecedented magnitudes.

The second panel, "Generating New Value from Local Assets," brought together Katherine Sierra, VP for sustainable development at The World Bank, Mayor of Johannesburg Amos Masondo, Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. President and Chairman of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees Christopher Kennedy and Mayor of Mexico City, Marcelo Ebrard Casauban. The panel addressed cities' physical local assets, such as natural resources, cultural assets and places of historical importance, which could be improved or transformed in ways that could bring new pride and value to local communities and, ultimately, attract new local economic value and growth.

The last panel, "Rebooting the Economy with a Premium on Talent" included Mayor Daley, Mayor of Amman Municipality Omar Maani, Mayor of Penalolen Claudio Orrego Larrain and Anne Eleanor Roosevelt, VP of global corporate citizenship at Boeing. Panelists discussed new strategies for enhancing education, talent and job growth in cities as cities work to overcome the local impacts of the global recession.

Global cities represented this year include: Beijing, Bogota, Buckinghamshire, Casablanca, Columbus, Florence, Galway, Guadalajara, Hamburg, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Kathmandu, Kuwait City, Moscow, Oklahoma City, Osaka, Prague, Quebec City, Rochester, Shenyang, Vilnius, Warsaw and others.

The Richard J. Daley Global Cities Forum thanks the following sponsors for their generous support: AAR; Abbott; ADM; American Airlines; Ariel Mutual Funds; AT&T; Baker and McKenzie; Bank of America; Baxter; BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois; The Boeing Company; Chicago Bulls; Chicago Climate Exchange; Chicago White Sox; Citi; CME Group; Corn Products International; DLA Piper; Edelman; Exelon; Grosvenor Capital Management L.P.; UIC Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement; GE; Gibsons; JACOBS; JMB Realty Corporation; JN Pritzker Tawani Foundation; The John Buck Company/John Buck International; Jones Lang LaSalle; The Joyce Foundation; JP Morgan Chase & Co.; Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP; KPMG; McCormick Foundation; Microsoft; Morgan Stanley; Motorola; The Rise Group; Sidley Austin LLP; Siebert, Brandford, Shank & Co., LLC.; Superior Ambulance Service and Underwriters Laboratories.

History of the Richard J. Daley Global Cities Forum

The Forum is named for current Mayor Richard M. Daley's late father, Richard J. Daley, who served as mayor of Chicago from 1955 until his death in 1976. Richard J. Daley was a major figure in American national politics throughout his career. At the center of interest for the Forum are the issues that concerned him during his life and that concern government leaders, urban policy-makers and scholars to this day. For more information and to view videos from previous forums, please visit www.uic.edu/orgs/daleyforum

SOURCE Richard J. Daley Global Cities Forum