Nov 5, 2008 11:52 am US/Central
Chicagoans Proud, Hopeful For City After Obama Win
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Signs hail Chicago's own Barack Obama on downtown streets.
CBS
The Obama bandwagon is speeding ahead and the idea of a Chicagoan in the White House is creating excitement in the air.
Some people said they feel like they're going to wake up and find out that it's all a dream. And that's understandable because four years ago if someone had said that an Illinois state senator would become our next president, that person likely would have been seen as something of a nut rather than as the ultimate political prognosticator.
As CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports, the signs in front of City Hall downtown say it all: "Congratulations Chicago's Own Barack Obama President-Elect of the United States of America."
They're signs of a time that Derrick Roberts says he never thought he'd live to see.
"When Obama won Pennsylvania and Ohio I knew he had 44th president," Roberts, of Floosmoor, said. "And when they made the call it brought us to tears."
Mount Prospect resident Cathy Gregory says she screamed with joy when the television networks called the race for Obama just after 10 p.m., and she believes what's good for the country will be great for the city Obama calls home.
"I think it's really made us the world class city that we have been and everyone will know it now," Gregory said.
"Chicago will never be the same," Andrea Reed, of Chicago, said. "Everybody is smiling and happy. I just think it brings so much hope to the hearts of people."
Flossmoor resident Robert Keivan voted for Republican John McCain but was focusing on the upside of having a Chicagoan in the White House.
"The benefits of Obama winning, you know, he's from Chicago and it was nice to see that our country is taking a big step in electing an African American as president."
Others believe the international goodwill fostered by Tuesday night's Obama landslide could give Chicago an edge as it tries to play host to the 2016 Olympic Games. It's an effort some say that can only be helped by having the most powerful man in the world step up as the Chicago Olympics cheerleader-in-chief.
"I think instead of having Michael Jordan and Oprah representing Chicago, we now have the president of the United States representing Chicago and I think we have a good shot now," Chicagoan Brian Bianco said.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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