FROM ILLINOIS

“I was standing in line to vote here in Chicago early this morning. I stood behind a man who, after over an hour of standing in line, was told he had come to the wrong polling place. There was no visible anger or frustration on his part – he just got directions to the right place and left. When it was my turn, I was told by the election officer that my John Kerry pin was the first partisan paraphanalia she’d seen all day. I took it off – proud to just be able to participate in this process, and proud to be surrounded by people who felt the same. People everywhere in this city seem to be in a particularly good mood today; at the end of such a bitter race, it’s beautiful to be part of truly united States.”