Possible Windfall for Daley After Surprising Announcement

Chicago - One thing looks certain in light of Mayor Daley’s surprising announcement: Daley will be missed and won't be leaving his job empty-handed.

The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting the mayor could reap a retirement windfall of nearly $1.5 million, which is how much the mayor has left in his campaign fund.

Under state law, he can claim that as income as long as he pays taxes on it.

The size of the mayor's annual pension will depend on which public pension plan he chooses to claim and when he claims it.

A few hours after the mayor’s announcement, the soon-to-be outgoing mayor was downtown at a business event.

He said he thinks someone can come in and do an even better job as mayor than he did.

"I love the city and I’ll help the next mayor as much as I can, and if he or she needs my help, fine. I'm there. And the business community is strong here in Chicago. They've built foundations. They have plans. They have projects. And they're going to move forward," Daley said.

Daley said he knows what he'll do next, but he would not say what it is, just that it's not in public service.

His advice to whoever succeeds him: be passionate about government and rely on good, quality people to help.

When he broke the news to his cabinet, it was an emotional scene. Mike Flannery caught up with a teary-eyed Aviation Commissioner Rosemarie Andolino in City Hall.

Flannery: ’I've seen other people here with tears in their eyes. Why do you think that is?’

Andolino: ’Because he had a way of connecting with the people.’

Flannery: ’You enjoyed working for him?’

Andolino: ’Oh, gosh, yes. Absolutely.’

Flannery: ’He was more than a boss to you.’

Andolino: ’He was a mentor. Yeah, absolutely. And will continue to be.’

The cabinet members gave the mayor a standing ovation as he entered the room.