President Obama’s inauguration was a communal event in Chicago and across the nation, as people came together in schools, offices and public squares to watch the ceremonies from chilly Washington, D.C.
Obama completed his oath of office about five minutes after 11 a.m. Chicago time. For many, it was a shared moment of great emotion.
“I feel pride,” said Dangelo Williams, 12, who watched with classmates from the South Side school where First Lady Michelle Obama was once a student. “I think he’s going to try whatever he can to change America.”
In Hyde Park, which considers the new president one of its own, it was difficult to find a public spot that wasn’t filled with excited crowds Tuesday morning. The line snaked outside the Valois restaurant on 53rd Street, where a breakfast special is named after Obama.
“It’s a beautiful transition. I don’t think anything else could be better. [Obama] has the attributes to make the world a better place,” said Keith Young, 76, a retired welder from Roseland.
Amid a gentle, sporadic snowfall, about 300 people gathered in Pioneer Court, just north of the Chicago River in the shadow of Tribune Tower, to watch the event on a large TV.
“I wanted to be with other people, just to share in the collage of humanity,” said Mary Jo Kortum, 70, of Lake Geneva, Wis., who got up at 4 a.m. to get downtown. She stood with Rosalie Kipka, 62, of Bridgeport. Bundled against the cold, with a red, white and blue scarf thrown on as a final flourish, Kipka said when Obama spoke: “He makes the hair stand up on my arms.”
In the crowd were people from Germany, Ireland and Canada. A father brought his 7-year-old son to witness the crowd and the historic moment, and a pair of women in their 50s said they saw in the speech an opportunity for America to regain its place in the world.
“We have found a strength on which we can build,” said Cindy Durley, 50, of Chicago.
As Obama completed his oath, cheering students in the auditorium at Jefferson Middle School in Villa Park jumped from their seats.
The students then listened to the beginning of Obama’s speech with great seriousness. When he touched on themes of equality and making America great, there were smiles and more applause.
Cheers also filled Room 303 at Bouchet Math and Science Academy, where Michelle Obama spent the 8th grade.
“I think it’s kind of cool because she was a regular little kid and now she’s the first black first lady in the White House,” said Nadya Woodhouse, 12.
Thousands of people from Chicago and Illinois weren’t willing to watch history unfold on TV. Some had been planning their trip to Washington for months, but Chet Terry, 56, of Naperville decided over the weekend to make the trip. He flew in Monday and planned to leave later Tuesday.
Terry, who is African-American, grew up in a segregated Virginia.
“I never expected it, absolutely not,” Terry said of a black man becoming president. “Just seeing how far people of color have come.”
