Obama recognizes Daley's 22 years as Chicago mayor

[April 28, 2011]  CHICAGO (AP) -- President Barack Obama says he doubts that outgoing Chicago Mayor Richard Daley will be taking time off when he steps down next month after 22 years in office.

Daley was in the audience when Obama taped an interview for "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on Wednesday. Afterward, Obama praised Daley, telling reporters he had done an extraordinary job transforming the city.

But Obama said he was skeptical that Daley would take time off after stepping down on May 16 because he was still churning out ideas for how to improve the city during the helicopter ride from the airport.

Obama gave Daley a framed map of the city from 1834 and said he'd turned a great American city into a great world city.

[Associated Press; By DARLENE SUPERVILLE]

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