Truemors
The lines for Election Day voting in Chicago started swelling around 6 a.m., but hours earlier a different queue began forming as anxious Barack Obama supporters scouted out a spot near Grant Park in hopes of landing a front row view of history. Two brothers (one of which happens to be my lovely fiance) hopped in line late Monday night, planning an overnight camp-out near the entrance of Grant Park. Chicago police had a different idea, giving the duo the boot until sunrise.
Around 9 a.m., other excited and anxious Obama supporters rolled in and by 11:30, a group of nearly 80 people had assembled along Congress Parkway. Follow updates from the front of the line on Twitter and here on NowPublic all day!
Play-by-Play Updates From the Group of Folks at the Front:
9:30 pm (Monday)- Arrive in line. Just me and the guy playing guitar.
12:30 am- Interview with Korean television station who kicks off questions with "So Obama's Black?" Hmm...answer with a smile.
5:30 am- Chicago police still don't have plan for 65K people lining up before 8:30.
6:30 am- Met guy from Congo who saved all his money and flew in to the Windy City for chance to attend Obamafest.
6:30ish am- Sunrise...finally! Who wants to supply the line with Starbucks?
9:30 am- More people showing up along with a bus filled with Chicago cops.
10:00 am- Interviews with MTV and Chicago Tribune.
12:30 pm- Line hits 150! Not sure where 60K people are going to line up.
12:40 pm- Interview with Korean Television shown nationally in South Korea...good thing I remembered the one Korean phrase I know!
1:00 pm- Line has begun swinging around Congress Parkway.
2:30 pm- Annie (ACBert) has arrived!
3:00 pm- My fiance (Tom) has now been interviewed by stations from Sweden, Germany, Argentina and a slew of others.
3:15 pm- Police have warned that the lines will soon be moving closer to the park. It's absolute chaos...the CPD seems confused, but the vibe in the city is absolutely phenomenal!
4:30 pm- The police randomly decided to let about 2,000 people in and we are now corralled in to a gated area with no estimate of when we will be let in... it's basically chaos
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (1)
at 17:11 on November 4th, 2008
This radio show is about what is truly at stake in this election, and what we are TRULY voting for. This election can change the mindset of the entire country and could have an effect for years to come. Most people don't think of it in this way. It's very surprising. And either way you decide, you will at least be aware and understand the unspoken implications. If you like what you hear, please pass the link on to others who you may think might like it.
http://tinyurl.com/5znubc