WASHINGTON--Mayor Daley's life-after-City Hall is taking shape, with his trip here Tuesday for a meet of a State Department panel he co-chairs dealing with Chinese-U.S. Relations.

I ran into Daley Tuesday night at the Hay-Adams Hotel, where he was visiting with a group of executives from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

The reason for Daley's visit--it was not on any public schedule--was "for the inaugural meeting of the Advisory Committee on the 100,000 Strong Initiative," his City Hall press office told me. Daley was named co-chair last month with former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) by the U.S. State Department to the panel advising the program created by President Obama.