Last week, we suggested that one subtle but crucial impact of Mayor Richard Daley's impending retirement would be the eventual changes in leadership at the city's top departments and governing boards. In an excellent piece published this morning, the Sun-Times' Fran Spielman points out that the new mayor won't have free rein to shake up City Hall agencies right away:

Scores of Daley loyalists have been locked in to long-running appointments on policy-making boards and commissions. They will continue to serve in those posts for years to come, potentially undermining the power of whoever becomes Chicago's new mayor.

Among those likely staying on will be businessman Jim Reynolds, who was recently named chairman of the Chicago Housing Authority, and former Buildings Commissioner Mary Richardson-Lowry, who was just selected as school board president. The new mayor will have some influence over the influential Plan Commission; five of Daley's nine appointees -- including alleged slumlord Leon Finney Jr. -- are serving expired terms. Read the full piece here.