With Rahm Emanuel anointed as the mayor on Tuesday, many people are looking ahead to the future of Chicago. But the message from one local artist is: Mayor Daley Forever.

“When you’re a public person, you’re kind of writing a blank check in that you’re giving up your life,” said Nick Adam, a Chicago artist who started the Mayor Daley Forever campaign. “Whether I like or dislike his politics, as a person and a politician, he’s been fantastic.”

The campaign began at an art exhibit titled “The Daley Show” that ran for several weeks in December at the Chicago Urban Art Society in Pilsen. The exhibit had been planned earlier last year when most people assumed that the mayor would run for re-election.

It was a joint project of the non-profit Urban Arts Society and Johalla Projects, a venue for emerging and mid-career artists. But Mayor Daley surprised the city by announcing on Sept. 7 that he wouldn’t run for re-election.

“When it turned out he wasn’t going to run,” Adam said, “they’re like, ‘We can still do the show, it’ll just have a different meaning.’ ”

Adam was asked to do a piece for the show, and he decided to create campaign signage — as if Daley were still running. In addition to displaying them in the art exhibit, Adam also scattered the upbeat, red, white and blue signs reading “Forever and Ever, Mayor Richard M. Daley,” all around the city, including on the Chicago Avenue bridge and on State Street.

When Rahm Emanuel and other candidates formally announced their campaigns, Adam put up his Daley signs outside their events. It was his way of saying that campaign promises should be followed by concrete action.

“Rather than hearing about how Chicago could have less violence, have more jobs, which of course would be great things,” Adam said. “I wanted to illustrate that it would be far greater for a candidate to explain how they will do it and how they are accountable.”

Adam’s work is not pro- or anti-Daley policy, but rather a reminder that the departing Mayor Daley has given his career and his life to Chicago.

“I view him to be one of the few politicians capable of making a politically correct decision on a dime, whether it positively or negatively affects people,” Adam said. “And when things have spun out, he’s taken great accountability.”

Even though the show has ended and many of the signs around the city have been taken down, Adam is continuing to spread his message. Last Tuesday he launched a website, mayordaleyforever.com, where people can order T-shirts and posters that mirror the message on the signs. The website also spells out Adam’s message and includes photos of “The Daley Show” and the signs around Chicago.

“There was a good amount of requests for the signs,” Adam said. “I wanted to continue the conversation with the site and see if anyone else has the same thoughts [on Daley’s legacy].”

Interviewed several days before Emanuel’s Tuesday night victory, Adam said it didn’t matter who was elected next. Daley’s 22-year tenure will resonate throughout Chicago long after he leaves office on May 16.

“Daley said, ‘Everybody is replaceable in life, no one is here forever.’ That really stuck with me,” Adam said. “While that’s true in terms of people in office or people passing away, influence and impact last forever.