Dan Ryan family 'shocked' as Dan Ryan Expressway proposed to rename after Barack Obama

Daniel Ryan, affectionately called Dan, was an insurance broker from Chicago who later served as the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners.

He was a Democrat, and after his death, the Dan Ryan Expressway was named after him.

However, there has been a recent proposal to change the name of the expressway to honor former president Barack Obama.

Read more on our Twitter @amomama_usa.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

The family and descendants of the late Dan Ryan have taken issue with this and expressed their shock and dismay at the proposed name change.

For 56 years the expressway has been named after Dan Ryan. The person who was the most affected by the name change proposal was his grandson, Daniel B. Ryan the third.

He shared his opinion of the situation:

“I’m hurt. I feel bad that he didn’t try and contact us to see what we would think. We feel very honored to have this named after our grandfather. Why would you take an honor away from one man to honor another?”

ANOTHER RENAMING

The Dan Ryan Expressway is not the only thing that might have its name changed to honor Barack Obama. A school in Virginia seems to be the next place to do so.

J. E. B. Stuart Elementary School might soon change its name to Barack Obama Elementary School, following a vote.

The school is currently comprised of 90% black students and the proposed name change was voted for six to one.

There are schools in Connecticut and Maryland that have already changed their names in this way.