Chicago Plans for November 4

Via The Swamp, the Tribune’s blog:

Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign will hold what it hopes will be an Election Night celebration in Grant Park in Chicago, a campaign aide confirmed this morning.

The large public space between the Loop and lakeshore also hosted a papal visit in 1979 and a Chicago Bulls NBA championship celebration in 1991. It more routinely host open-air concerts, sporting events and the Taste of Chicago.

The Obama aide said logistical details such as whether attendees will need to register online or obtain a ticket in advance are still being worked out and will be announced in the coming days.

The Obama event is expected to take place on the south end of the park in an area known as Hutchison Field.

Grant Park once hosted a Friday afternoon papal mass in 1979 featuring Pope John Paul II. It attracted hundreds of thousands of worshipers, despite an October chill and dire warnings about gridlock.

It could also be cold on the night of Nov. 4. But it will almost certainly no colder than frigid February 2007 day when Obama announced his presidential bid at the Old State Capitol in Springfield.

The campaign aide declined to say how large a crowd is expected, or whether it would rival the size of the pope’s appearance or the Bull’s celebration.

Seriously? Rivaling the size of the pope’s appearance?

There has to be a joke about Obama being the second coming somewhere in here.