CHICAGO — President Barack Obama came to town Thursday to cast his vote ahead of the election, making him the first sitting president to vote early.
Obama flew from a campaign event in Richmond, Va., to O'Hare International Airport in the afternoon to submit his ballot in person at the Martin Luther King Community Center in Bronzeville.
As his motorcade pulled up to the voting site at 4314 S. Cottage Grove Ave., Obama waved to supporters, who chanted "Four more years!"
Lorenzo Owens brought his friend's children to catch a glimpse of Obama.
"He's the first black president, and beyond that, he's done a phenomenal job," Owens said.
Anne Ogwal just happened to be in town from Champaign, Ill., visiting family and decided to try to see Obama live and in person.
"It's more real than seeing him on TV," Ogwal said. "Now I see why everyone goes crazy."
At least 100 people lined South Cottage Grove Avenue hoping for a peek at the commander-in-chief, but the vehicle he was in pulled into a tent, and he did not come out to greet the crowd.Supporters still waited outside in the rain amid a noticeable presence from Chicago police and Secret Service agents while Obama voted, presumably for his own White House ticket.
Once inside, even though he has one of the most recognizable faces and in the world, Obama still had to prove who he was. An early voting official looked at Obama, smiled and then said, “I need an ID," the Sun-Times reported.
The president laughed and then joked about the photo on his driver's license, asking the official to "ignore the fact that there's no gray hair on that picture," according to the Sun-Times.
The president emerged from the early voting facility about 20 minutes after his arrival. He re-entered his vehicle and his motorcade headed south. Obama waved goodbye to supporters who, unfortunately, did not get any closer to the president from where they stood on the sidewalk, and barely saw more than his hand.
He made a pit-stop at one of his campaign offices in Hyde Park, and was jetted to Ohio to continue campaigning Thursday evening after about two hours in his adopted hometown.
