Chicago Area Local News

CHICAGO (CBS) ― President-elect Barack Obama's home community of Hyde Park is known for its diversity on Chicago's South Side. And now it will forever be known as "Obamaland."

As CBS 2's Joanie Lum reports, the aroma of a free breakfast and the desire to see the next president of the United States attracted hundreds to neighborhood cafeteria Valois, where Obama used to dine. Wednesday, the restaurant served the Obama Breakfast of Champions.

Suddenly there's international attention focused on Hyde Park, and longtime residents love it.

"Hyde Park, this little community, diverse, multi-ethnic, you can't beat it," said neighborhood resident Rostelle Reese.

This little community is seeing a huge police presence. The security perimeter around Obama's house has been extended by several blocks.

"Hyde Park is the United Nations, all different cultures, it's a melting pot," resident Dawn Bauer said.

The Woodlawn Tap, known to Hyde Park residents as Jimmy's, is a neighborhood watering hole open since the 1930s and a frequent hangout for both neighborhood residents and University of Chicago students.

When Obama was a professor teaching at the U. of C. Law School, he would sometimes stop in and grab a beer at Jimmy's, 1172 E. 55th St.

And as CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker reports, on Tuesday night, the patrons at Jimmy's went wild with cheers when they found out their neighbor would be the next President of the United States.

"It's a great feeling. I've lived in Hyde Park about 30 years," a man said. "What this means for me is that it's given me faith in the future. I think that Barack Obama really represents an intelligent man who's really got real solutions. I think the country is going to see that this man from Hyde Park is really in the tradition of Senator Paul Douglas and Harold Washington."

Today the Obama family lives about six blocks away from Jimmy's, in a mansion, but Obama and wife Michelle Obama used to live in a condominium about a mile away. The family lived on the first floor in a four-bedroom home.

Obama has lived in Hyde Park since the mid-1980s, he got his political start in Hyde Park, and his children attend a private school in the neighborhood.

A number of Hyde Parkers know Obama as a neighbor, a parent and a former professor.

"I think he's going to do great things for us, put people together, think about the problems of America, and solve the problems of America," said Hyde Park resident and Univeristy of Chicago dean of college admissions Ted O'Neill.

"I was so proud -- in the speech, it was incredibly moving, and to hear him say those words, I feel more proud of my country than I ever have," said Renee Melton.

"You happen to have a person who has broken the glass ceiling; who has built faith and believed in the American dream," said Robert Bassett.

Earlier Tuesday, Tucker talked to a woman who lived above the Obamas for about 10 years. She described the senator as an impressive, but otherwise pretty ordinary, man.

"When he was in the senate it would be really funny, because I'd be watching C-SPAN and he'd be on the floor of the senate, voting, and then the next morning the doorbell would ring, and he'd say, 'Hey Barbara, it's Barack. I forgot my keys!'" said former neighbor Barbara Wichura.

Hyde Park resident Joe Long knew Obama as a neighbor and fellow member of Trinity United Church of Christ.

"We just all knew that he had something special way back several years ago," Long said.

Long is a greeter at Trinity, and often greeted Obama and his family at the church.

"He loved the church. We loved him. We take pride in the fact that he was a member for so many years, and he adds a lot to our congregation," Long said. "We are proud of the fact that he is a son of Trinity United Church of Christ."

Long said Obama brought "his presence and his enthusiasm and his political prowess, as he left the streets of being a community organizer, coming into the State Senate as a State Senator, we were just very proud of him. And then when he moved into the United Senate, we said, 'Oh my God, this man has something special, and he's a member of our congregation,' and so we have watched with a great deal of anticipation and a great deal of pride in his growth. We never anticipated that he would grow this far, but we are so proud and so happy that he's actually at this stage in his life. And so we love it."

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was not uncommon to run into Obama when running errands or walking around the neighborhood, and he would often stop to chat with his neighbors.

He was likewise well-known to U. of C. students, who might have had occasion to talk with him in the law school, the Reynolds Club student union, and other campus buildings.

At the time, Obama was a state senator and a lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School. His wife, Michelle Obama, was an assistant dean of student services at the university.

CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker and Joanie Lum contributed to this report.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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