John B. O'Reilly Jr.

Last updated
Christina O'Reilly
​
(m. 1973)​
John B. O'Reilly Jr.
Jack O'Reilly (4260398436).jpg
O'Reilly in 2018
6th Mayor of Dearborn
In office
February 27, 2007 –January 1, 2022
Children3

John Bernard "Jack" O'Reilly Jr. (born September 21, 1948) is an American retired politician who served as the 6th mayor of Dearborn, Michigan from 2007 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served on the Dearborn City Council from 1990 to 2007.

Contents

Career

Dearborn City Council

O'Reilly began his political career serving as Washington staff counsel and district director for then-U.S. Congressman John D. Dingell, before serving as chief of staff in the Michigan State Senate. He was elected as a city councilman for Dearborn for 17 years between 1990 and 2007. [1]

Mayor of Dearborn

Following the passing of mayor Michael Guido from cancer O'Reilly was appointed the interim mayor until a special election could be held. He proceeded to run as a candidate during the special election and won and would be sworn in as a full mayor on February 27, 2007. As mayor he greatly improved the city's public infrastructure, notably overseeing the construction of the John D. Dingell Transit Center, in an effort to turn the city into a regional transportation hub. As mayor he also greatly streamlined the bureaucratic process in the city, cutting out red tape. [2]

O'Reilly also promoted economic development and community programs, most notably with Ford Land, where he worked with Ford Land’s Wagner Place development, which remade part of Dearborn’s west downtown area. [3] O'Reilly was elected president of the Michigan Municipal League from 2015 – 2016 where he received the 2022 Honorary Life Membership Award for the most active and inspiring leaders dedicated to the League and its mission. He was also active with the Urban Core Mayors, Downriver Community Conference, Conference of Western Wayne, United States Conference of Mayors, and the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments while maintaining a role with the Urban Core Mayors, a bipartisan, multi-regional coalition of 13 central city mayors. [4]

In January 2019, Dearborn Historian editor Bill McGraw had his contract terminated for an Autumn 2018 issue concerning Henry Ford. That issue, concurrent with the 100th anniversary of Ford's acquisition of the Dearborn Independent newspaper, detailed the anti-Semitic influence that Ford infamously exerted. The city government's suppression of the issue received widespread exposure, with some calling for Dearborn officials and others related to Ford's industry to recognize the impact of Ford's antisemitism. [5] [6] As a result of the national publicity, the Dearborn Historical Commission held an emergency meeting in which the commission created a resolution that called for the end of censorship of the issue.

At a municipal deposition on February 13, 2019 mayor O'Reilly was unable to answer basic personal questions, forgetting how many children he had, their names and ages, as well as stating he took his Bar exam in 1890. [7] However, despite this he continued to serve as mayor for an additional two years until in another deposition on June 26, 2021, where he was too mentally unfit to even appear, instead having to issue all his statements through curated press releases. [8] He would announce on July 9, 2021 that has been suffering from an undisclosed illness preventing him from making public appearances and that he will not be seeking another term as mayor, retiring after 32 years of public service. [9]

Personal life

O'Reilly is married and has three sons. [7] His father, John B. O'Reilly Sr., was mayor from 1978 to 1985 and also Dearborn's police chief.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Ford</span> American business magnate (1863–1947)

Henry Ford was an American industrialist and business magnate. As the founder of the Ford Motor Company, he is credited as a pioneer in making automobiles affordable for middle-class Americans through the system that came to be known as Fordism. In 1911, he was awarded a patent for the transmission mechanism that would be used in the Ford Model T and other automobiles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dearborn, Michigan</span> City in Michigan, United States

Dearborn is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, United States. It is an inner-ring suburb in Metro Detroit, bordering Detroit to the south and west, and roughly 7 miles (11.3 km) west of downtown Detroit. In the 2020 census, it had a population of 109,976, ranking as the seventh-most populous city in Michigan. Dearborn is best known as the hometown of the Ford Motor Company and of its founder, Henry Ford.

<i>The Dearborn Independent</i> Former American newspaper established by Henry Ford

The Dearborn Independent, also known as The Ford International Weekly, was a weekly newspaper established in 1901, and published by Henry Ford from 1919 through 1927. The paper reached a circulation of 900,000 by 1925, second only to the New York Daily News, largely due to a quota system for promotion imposed on Ford dealers. Lawsuits regarding antisemitic material published in the paper caused Ford to close it, and the last issue was published in December 1927. The publication's title was derived from the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Dingell</span> American politician (1926–2019)

John David Dingell Jr. was an American politician from the state of Michigan who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1955 until 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, Dingell holds the record as the longest-serving member of Congress in American history.

Michigan's 12th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Hotel & Convention Center</span> Hotel in Michigan, United States

The Edward Hotel & Convention Center was a 14-story, 773-room former conference center hotel located in the Metro Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan. Until its closure in 2018, it was the second largest hotel in Michigan, after the Marriott in Detroit's Renaissance Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John D. Dingell Transit Center</span>

The John D. Dingell Transit Center, also known as the Dearborn Transit Center, is an intermodal transit station in Dearborn, Michigan. It is served by Amtrak's Wolverine line as well as Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) buses. The station is named after former U.S. Representative John Dingell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Lesinski Jr.</span> American politician

John Lesinski Jr. was a U.S. Congressman for seven terms from the state of Michigan. He was the son of John Lesinski Sr. He was of Polish descent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan</span>

The 2008 congressional elections in Michigan were held on November 4, 2008, to determine who would represent the state of Michigan in the United States House of Representatives. Michigan had fifteen seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected will serve in the 111th Congress from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. The election coincided with the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debbie Dingell</span> American politician (born 1953)

Deborah Ann Dingell is an American politician serving as a U.S. representative from Michigan since 2015, representing the state's 6th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she succeeded her late husband, John Dingell, who was the longest-serving member of Congress in U.S. history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orville L. Hubbard</span> American mayor of Dearborn, Michigan

Orville Liscum Hubbard was an American politician who served as the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, from 1942 to 1978. Hubbard was an effective administrator who served 15 consecutive terms while being nationally known as an outspoken segregationist who sought to keep Dearborn free of the perceived social and political ills of neighboring Detroit. A biographer described Hubbard as a "one-time high school athlete, ex-Marine, nonpracticing attorney, self-acknowledged expert on matters from the milking of cows to the history of the American Revolution, and personal symbol of suburban America's resistance to racial integration."

Mark J. Plawecki is a district judge in the U.S. state of Michigan. His district comprises the city of Dearborn Heights in Wayne County, located in suburban Detroit. He was first elected to the seat in 1994, and is currently in his sixth term as chief judge for that court.


The Dearborn Homecoming festival, established in 1979, is an annual celebration held in the city of Dearborn, Michigan. The three-day festival takes place at Ford Field Park near Dearborn High School. Main features include reunions, carnival rides, historical reenactments, and a large display of fireworks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nabeel Qureshi (author)</span> Pakistani-American author

Nabeel Asif Qureshi was a Pakistani-American evangelical Christian apologist. Raised by a devout Ahmadi family, Qureshi converted to Christianity from Ahmadiyya as a university student following several years of debate with a Christian friend.

Events from the year 1947 in Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdullah Hammoud</span> American politician from Michigan

Abdullah H. Hammoud is an American politician serving as the 7th mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, Hammoud had previously served in the Michigan House of Representatives, representing the 15th district from 2017 to 2021.

Tullio Liberati Jr. is an American politician serving as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives since 2021, currently representing the 2nd district. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Bryan K. Barnett is an American politician currently serving as mayor of Rochester Hills, Michigan. He has held office since 2006 as a Republican. He also served as the president of the United States Conference of Mayors from 2019 to 2020.

Michael A. Guido was an American politician who served as the 5th mayor of Dearborn, Michigan from 1986 until his death in 2006. He also was appointed to serve as the 64th President of the United States Conference of Mayors for the 2006 to 2007 term, but due to his death John B. O'Reilly Jr. finished Guido's term.

References

  1. ↑ Nkata, Fatima (27 November 2017). "Dearborn Keeps O'Reilly in Office". www.mirrornews.hfcu.org/. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  2. ↑ Herndon, Dave (21 December 2021). "Tribute video to Mayor O'Reilly's 32 years of public service available to watch". www.pressandguide.com/. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  3. ↑ Bowerman, Stacy (21 December 2016). "Ford Land development transforms downtown Dearborn into 21st century hip locale". www.michiganbusiness.org/. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  4. ↑ Schwanky, Morgan (19 October 2022). "John B. "Jack" O'Reilly Receives 2022 Honorary Life Membership Award". www.mml.org/. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  5. ↑ "Perspective | Why Ford needs to grapple with its founder's anti-Semitism". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  6. ↑ Eisenstein, Paul A. (2019-02-04). "Mayor's attempt to censor local article about Henry Ford's anti-Semitism draws national attention". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  7. 1 2 Warikoo, Niraj. "www.freep.com/". Dearborn residents: How long did council know about mayor's cognitive issues?. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  8. ↑ Rahal, Nour. "Dearborn Mayor John O'Reilly Jr. dealing with health issues, unable to speak publicly". www.freep.com. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  9. ↑ Herndon, Dave (9 July 2021). "Dearborn Mayor John O'Reilly cites undisclosed illness as the reason for his lack of public appearances". www.pressandguide.com. Retrieved 28 October 2022.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.