CHICAGO SENDS ONE OF ITS OWN TO THE WHITE HOUSE!
SURREAL CHICAGO NIGHT - DEMOCRAT OBAMA PICKS UP 85% OF CHICAGO VOTES, 67% IN SUBURBAN COOK COUNTY IL!
America spoke loudly yesterday! After an increasingly bitter presidential campaign that few thought would ever end, the historic presidential election ended in what many have described as an electoral landslide from the IL Senator that calls Chicago his home.
The big rally, capped by the new President Elect delivering a stirring acceptance speech, will be remembered forever by those who watched it in person at Grant Park just east of The Chicago Loop, at hundreds of Election Night Parties at clubs throughout Chicago and the suburbs, and at home, quietly.
On the North Side of Chicago, near our office in the Lincoln Square Neighborhood, crowds were exuberant, very positive, and ethnically diverse. Also predominantly younger, this new multi-ethnic demographic may now define today's Democratic Party nationally. Their focus was on "Change for the Better," rather than "Let's Elect the Lesser of Two Evils."
It was truly astounding to be among celebrating fellow Chicago residents last night.
Any benefits for the City of Chicago now that we are sending one of our adoptive sons to the White House? Many would assume so - from both a tangible and intangible perspective.
Take first the intangible - tied to our city's image. The city, who for one hundred years hasn't been able to cajole its North Side Baseball Club to win a World Series, is now World Class. All eyes were on Chicago last night, and we LOOKED GOOD!
It was incredible ironic that Barack Obama's acceptance speech was delivered in Grant Park in Downtown Chicago. You boomers and ex-hippies may remember what happened in that same park just over 40 years ago, during the Summer of 1968.
During that troubled year that included Vietnam War Protests, Civil Rights Unrest, and the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Chicago Grant Park protests that summer during the Democratic Convention hosted here stained our city.
Forty years later, it appears those old ghosts are long gone. The orderly celebration in the same park last night proves that.
Tangibly, there will be a buzz of activity here as Senator Obama transitions to power prior to Inauguration Day next January 20th. Cabinet posts and other appointments will come soon, and I would bet many of these will be made with the City of Chicago as a backdrop.
As the new President takes office, one might assume that Chicago may become his "Western White House," perhaps in the same way that Crawford TX is now for President Bush.
Obama is the first president in memory transitioning from a major American Urban City. Will his agenda include help to the deteriorating infrastructure and social needs of big cities, in a more profound way than it has during recent administrations? If so - Chicago will likely be the launching pad.
The 2016 Summer Olympics, which Chicago has been vying for in competition with several other cities around the world. Will Obama's hometown presence here give us a bit of a leg up on grabbing the games? Maybe!
The list can go on, folks!
But today, we should all be proud to be Americans! And I know, I am very proud to be a Chicagoan!
Click for Chicago and Suburban Cook County nearly-final vote tallies via CNN.com. Despite the overwhelming Obama victory across Chicago and all of its Neighboring Counties and Suburbs, voter turnout in the city was just over 69% - far lighter than a historic 80 to 90 percent level predicted before the vote.
Click here for vote tallies and registered voter percentages within the City of Chicago, Suburban Cook County IL, as well as the Suburban IL Counties of Lake, DuPage, Kane, McHenry, and Will, from today's Chicago Tribune.
DEAN MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
