‘Bad-mouthing’ Chicago did indeed get Mike Wallace booted from 1968 Democratic convention

At last!The inside scoop behind a sensational 56-year-old Chicago story from the 1968 Democratic National Convention, thanks to the widow of the late, press-friendly Chicago top cop Back then, Joe Di was working the DNC floor as a young, undercover plainclothes CPD detective.It was quite a story. Legendary CBS-TV correspondent was arrested on the convention floor inside the old International Amphitheater, while massive anti-Vietnam War protester-police confrontations were raging on Chicago’s streets.Wallace was just weeks away from launching “60 Minutes” with His arrest made national headlines.A plainclothes police officer, right, argues with CBS television newsman Mike Wallace and New York delegate Alex Rosenberg, just beyond Wallace, during a fracas on the floor of the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 28, 1968. AP fileOne 1968 press account had Wallace getting stopped by police and arrested for attempting to muscle his way off the congested convention floor to talk to a New York delegate who was having trouble with his credentials. Another claimed Wallace was arrested while fuming angrily at being blocked and strong-armed on the DNC floor while he was just “doing his job.” He had also blasted the police for manhandling the angry protesters outside the convention.Mike Wallace, CBS-TV newsman, center, is escorted off the Democratic Convention floor Wednesday night by Joe DiLeonardi and other Chicago police officers in 1968.AP fileFor whatever reason, Wallace was arrested and whisked off the convention floor. His CBS boss would bawl out then-Mayor and protest the arrest. Daley reportedly demanded Wallace apologize.But Wallace was never charged with any crime or booked.According to Carol DiLeonardi, whose husband was one of the officers who escorted the blustery newsman off the convention floor, Wallace was indeed “reporting inside the hall and blasting the way police outside were arresting and holding back protesters.”“The mayor was very upset that he [Wallace] was bad-mouthing his city, so he wanted him arrested and removed from the floor,” she claims.In this Aug. 28, 1968 file photo, Mayor Richard J. Daley pumps his fist as he speaks from the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. AP-file“So, Joe and another officer did take Wallace outside the convention, where [Wallace’s] picture was taken and shown in every newspaper, so [Wallace] could, of course, let his audience know what happened.”Then Chicago Police detective Joe DiLeonardi at the Democratic Convention in 1968.Provided“He told Joe it was the only time he ever got arrested,” she said.“Joe heard later from Wallace’s son, Chris, that Mike had the picture framed and [it was] hanging in his office like a badge of honor,” she said.A decade later, Carol DiLeonardi’s husband would eventually become Chicago’s top cop, Police Supt. Joe DiLeonardi, during the administration of Mayor Mayor Jane Byrne, left, jokes with Irish Prime Minister Jack Lynch in 1979 as Joe Dileonardi, then acting superintendent of police, listens in.Sun-Times file Mike Wallace’s only son, went on to become a Fox News TV anchor and is now an anchor for CNN. He was in Chicago when his father covered the 1968 Dem convention.Coincidentally, Chris Wallace will be in town covering the 2024 Dem convention. Wonder what he’ll have to say about his dad when he checks into town.Stay tuned!A special note to … the only child of . Byrne was the only child of Chicago’s first female mayor.Dear Willy,Your brilliant attorney mom was one of two major “encyclopedias” helping me research nearly a dozen newspaper columns on why your grandmother should be honored with a city memorial.The series led to TWO memorials being named for her after then-Gov. and then-Mayor both jumped aboard immediately.But your mother also wanted them for YOU, looking forward to your first drive through the newly named “Mayor Jane Byrne Interchange,” hearing it mentioned on the car radio, visiting the new Mayor Jane Byrne Park with you, not far from your late grandmother’s Gold Coast residence — and going with you on a winter school break a few years ago to visit your grandmother’s rediscovered and relocated Children’s Fountain in Lincoln Park. It was everything for her, Willy. She loved you so much.Yessir, senator! Former state Sen. empresario of Chicago’s Carnivale restaurant, 702 W. Fulton St., is tossing out the eatery’s cover charge and serving up an “after party” while the Democratic National Convention is in town. Actors portraying the legendary Rat Pack members and will hit the Carnivale stage Sunday and Wednesday nights. And Chicago’s own piano man, , will perform with his and tribute band Tuesday night. “As a past Dem convention delegate at least six times, I know attendees are always looking for after-hour fun,” chirped Billy. actor 81; 75; actor 64; 50; actor 33 … 88; actor 67; actress 66; actor 55; actress 29.Chicago Police Supt. Joe DiLeonardi and wife, Carol DiLeonardi, in 1979.Sun-Times file