Stage set for Obama speech in Chicago

CHICAGO- The stage is set. And the supporters are certainly beyond ready.

All of Chicago seems anxious, hoping their Illinois senator will claim victory in a historic election before giving a speech in Grant Park downtown later tonight. Results are just beginning to pour in from states with polls that close the earliest- including Indiana.

The stage for the Obama rally will go right in the middle of supporters, who have been let through the gates but not into the main area until 8:30 p.m. Many American flags form the backdrop, and Plexiglas surrounds the podium where Obama will speak. Depending on how the preliminary results turn out results, the Illinois senator will likely not begin speaking until at least 9:30 or 10 p.m.

Tickets were distributed to 70,000 supporters, but an overflow area is designated for those simply willing to show up.

Judith Elam, a woman wearing at least 10 Obama buttons over her Obama t-shirt, decided just two days ago to come to Chicago from Houston, Texas. Even though she and her friends don’t have tickets, she said she doesn’t mind. She will be in the spillover area with other supporters without tickets, with the only view of Obama on a large TV in the distance.

“It’s going to be history in the making and I wanna be here in the city that he lives in and celebrate with him tonight,” she said. When asked if she thought he would win, she said, “I just know. I feel it in my spirit. It’s just time.”