In Chicago, tears and cheers of joy

By Rex W. Huppke and Stacy St. Clair

Nov. 5, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune News Service delivered by Newstex) -- CHICAGO -- Streaming into an unparalleled moment in history, tens of thousands lit up Grant Park with a display of Election Night electricity not seen in generations. Under crystal skies and a crescent moon, they came from across the country and around the world, stood shoulder-to-shoulder and cheered joyously for President-elect Barack Obama, each drawn for reasons as diverse as the faces around them.

"The energy is shifting," said Linda Robb, a white woman from Buffalo Grove who burst into tears as Obama won. "There is a transformational shift happening -- consciousness is being raised."

"My father had to ride on the back of the bus," said Page Cooper, a commodities broker from the West Side. "Now look at where we are."

Paul Reinhardt, a white Detroit resident, sat along the periphery of the pandemonium with his four adopted children, who are all black: "One day, they will look back and say they were here in Grant Park when the first African-American became president of the United States. To me, that means anything is possible."

Rukaya Abdallah, 13, came from River Forest with her mother. She looked at the people around her, and something she heard on television during the long campaign suddenly registered.

"Different cultures," she said. "Everyone's coming together."

They were never more together than when official word came that Obama would become the 44th president of the United States. A deafening cheer erupted from the crowd -- a frenetic, grinning, often teary-eyed mix of whites and blacks and Latinos and Asians. In an homage to the Obama campaign's rallying cry of "Yes, we can!" the more than 150,000 revelers thrust their fists in the air and chanted "Yes, we did! Yes, we did!"

Marcie Rogers began to weep uncontrollably and shriek, "Thank you, Lord!"

"I never thought I would live to see a black president," she said, holding a tissue to her eyes. "I've lived through segregation."

Outside the park, cars on Michigan Avenue honked their horns, the noise blending with whoops and whistles from the sidewalks to form a victorious cacophony.

Katrina Oroye strolled through the chaos with her 6-year-old son, BaBa Tunde. "I know that I can tell him that he can be anything that he wants to," she said.

Clutching his mother's hand, the boy took her words to heart.

"I want to be a better person," he said. "I want to be president."

The only quiet moments of the evening came when Obama took the stage about 11 p.m., his voice echoing across the park as the swollen crowd looked on with rapt attention.

Just before Obama walked out, Allan Landau, a 53-year-old from the River West neighborhood, reflected on the presidential campaign he had helped as a volunteer on the streets of Chicago. Born in Canada, Landau is not yet a U.S. citizen and was unable to vote. But that didn't take away from the emotion of the moment.

"This might be the happiest day of my life," he said. "This might be the most important day in American history."

Throughout the evening, Michigan Avenue bustled with crowds like New Year's Eve. Some people were bound for the tickets-only section of Grant Park to see Obama live. Others headed toward the Jumbotrons, and some chose to simply wander the sidewalk soaking in the scene.

Amanda Geppert of Bucktown walked by the park on her way to watch election results with friends. She snapped pictures as she passed.

"I want to get photos that show a sense of the overall feeling here, the moments that make this night," she said, noting plans to e-mail the photos to friends across the country. "This is a night I'm proud to be a Chicagoan."

The signs that something special was happening were everywhere, from the unseasonably warm temperatures to the good-natured mood of the revelers.

To the north of the park, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Tower was lit up to read "USA," while just west of there the Smurfit-Stone Building declared "Vote 2008" on its slanted diamond roof.

"I've never been to anything like this before in my life. And I don't think I ever will again," said Aurora native Julian West, 30. "It's a lot of brotherhood and sisterhood. Solidarity is happening here."

Emblematic of the lengths some took to attend the rally, Jonathan Metzl drove straight to Chicago from the University of Michigan campus after teaching a class Tuesday.

He spoke about how Obama's story reinforces some of the lessons from his past.

"My father came from Europe, escaped from Nazis. America has always been a refuge, there was a sense we are stronger because of our diversity," Metzl said. "You stand in this crowd today, and you realize that message is still alive."

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(Chicago Tribune correspondents James Janega, Angela Rozas, David Heinzmann, Azam Ahmed, Margaret Ramirez, Antonio Olivo, Emma Graves Fitzsimmons, Ofelia Casillas, Sara Olkon, John Keilman, Vikki Ortiz, Lara Weber, Monica Eng, Jeff Long, Ted Gregory and Michael Hawthorne contributed to this report.)

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(c) 2008, Chicago Tribune.

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Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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PHOTOS (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): ELN-OBAMA

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