- [Narrator] Jane Byrne's campaign gained steam.

- Jane Byrne was one of the most talented politicians I have ever covered.

She could walk into an arena of 10,000 people and pick you out in the 12th row and go hi, and make you feel like you were the only person in that place.

- She was going out in the communities talking to people.

She really kind of made herself sound and feel like I care about you.

I care about what you're going through.

And this guy, the mayor, Michael Bilandic, does not.

- [Narrator] Byrne was also quick to attack Bilandic when in the wake of the storm, trains began to bypass the least populated stops along L lines, most of which were in black neighborhoods.

- There were complaints about the travel time from the outer fringes of the city into the downtown area.

And they opted foolishly to cut the stops in largely African American communities.

And people there had to get to work.

- I think a message, whether they meant to send this or not, was that some Chicagoans were more valuable than others.

- I do remember being bypassed.

The excuse was, we're trying to make the trains a little bit more expressed to get people to their destinations faster.

And the attitude in African American communities was, yeah, faster without us.

- And I think that was maybe the final nail in his coffin and Jane Byrne had a field day with that one.

- No one could stop the snow, but good planning can prevent the collapse of public transportation and clean the city up fast.

I'm Jane Byrne.

I think it's time to get Chicago working again for you.

- [Narrator] Byrne's criticism of her opponent, appeal to voters.

- And she gave the overall impression to Chicago's African American community that I care about you, that I'm concerned that there will be changes once I become mayor.

Oh yeah, I remember thinking he is gonna pay dearly for this.

Folks that I knew in my neighborhood and the community is like, we gotta get rid of this guy.

He's gotta go.

- [Narrator] With the tide turning against him, Michael Bilandic struggled to defend himself.

- Try to imagine the problems that piled on Michael Bilandic's desk.

You have an act of God that you couldn't plan for, and you're dealing with a personal issue.

Mayor Bilandic, his mother was ill and ultimately died.

And what's my responsibility, to hammer the guy as a hard hitting Chicago news reporter?

No, I felt sorry for him, but it was at that point, at least in my mind, that he lost the election.

- [Narrator] On February 27th, 1979, the day of the Chicago mayoral primary, the skies were clear and temperatures mild.

- On the day of the primary, it was a beautiful sunny day.

How poetic is that?

- And I believe it was like the second largest voter turnout in something like 40 years.

People were motivated, they were mad.

- What is a leader?

A leader is someone who has this ability that when he says charge, there's a whole crowd behind him saying, yeah.

From adversity is great opportunity and yet, if you're not a leader, if you're not that kind of leader, then you take great opportunity and you blow it.

- [Narrator] Chicago voters took out their frustrations at the polls.

And Jane Byrne secured a two point victory, including a clean sweep in the city's African American wards.

- But I don't believe that she just lucked out.

She worked hard at this and she was in the right place at the right time and had the guts to take him on.

- When you go into politics, you get the glory, but you also get the blame.

- Well, I'm just going to work today like I did every day for the last few years for the people.

And I made my statement last night and that's it.

- People expected a lot more.

People expected a lot more.