Chicago Hosts The President Elect

Last night’s rally for President-Elect Barack Obama in Grant Park was exhilarating, emotional, and breathtaking, and considering the size of the crowd, very very calm.

Paul and I headed to downtown Chicago around 8pm. We didn’t have tickets but just wanted to feel the energy as the election results came in. At first the streets were quieter than we expected, but as we neared Millennium Park the crowds grew. A police officer on Michigan Avenue quipped to another “they just keep coming, and coming, and coming.”

And they did. Thousands and thousands poured into Grant Park to watch the Jumbotron screens. It was like Taste of Chicago on steroids. If someone had told me ahead of time that every person in that throng would be smiling and happy and would spontaneously hug total strangers, I probably would have been a little skeptical. People broke out in song and impromptu dance circles sprang up and high-fives were frequent.

There were three things that were particularly amazing: one was that this seemingly amorphous mass would part ways for a t-shirt vendor parked in the middle of the street. Another was that everyone was so well behaved and orderly that even the police were smiling. The third was that the crowd dispersed so quickly that by 12:30 the streets were empty again.

As we headed to the train station, my friends and I remarked that this was proof that Chicago can handle the Olympic & Paralympic Games. We can more than “handle” them; that event will be met with even more excitement and organization than a Presidential rally.

If you were there and had the good fortune to record the experience, please submit a video for the contest! Last night the eyes of the world were on Chicago, and we shone with grace. Show the world our spirit and our passion and our diversity and that THIS is Why Chicago should host the Olympic & Paralympic Games!