PrintNovember 3, 2008
Obama's election rally
Barack Obama's spectacle in Berlin this past summer in the shadow of the destroyed Berlin Wall where he announced how he is the change the world has waited for followed by his Grecian column acceptance speech spectacle announcing how he is the change the US has waited for were preludes to the spectacle his staff has planned for election night in Chicago where he plans to nobly accept the will of the American people to change the universe.
The seemingly pre coronation party, billed as an Election Rally, is scheduled for Chicago's lakefront Grant Park--yes, that Grant Park, site of the 1968 Democratic Convention riots--adjacent to Chicago's main business district. So how many acolytes are anticipated?
Chicago's Mayor Richard
Daley estimated 1 million, a number he said was a guess. The campaign's permit said there would be 65,000 ticketed guests and 7,500 "participants" at the official fenced area. But interest is high and the weather is expected to be excellent, so expect quite a throng outside the official rally site
And if you're not a fan? Or just a worker trying to get home after a normal work day? Streets have been closed off, making return trip home difficult so extra buses and trains have been added. And oh, if you really don't want to participate in the festivities:
The Building Owners and Managers Association in Chicago sent a letter to building managers in the Loop suggesting they send tenants home by 3 p.m. Tuesday, said Jennifer Martinez, a spokeswoman for the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communication.
Classes after 3 p.m. at Columbia College were canceled, and college buildings will close at 6 p.m., according to an e-mail from Columbia's provost, Steven Kapelke.
The Chicago Police Department has canceled days off for all officers, and Chicago firefighters have been asked to have their personal equipment with them at home. Even the U.S. Coast Guard will patrol in Burnham Harbor and on Lake Michigan.
Party on, world.
