IT'S COLD WATER IN THE FACE TO REALIZE YOU'RE NOT NEARLY AS SPECIAL AND AS UNUSUAL AS YOU MIGHT HAVE THOUGHT WHEN YOU WERE AN ALIENATED TEENAGER.
I accept that responsibility and ask only that I be judged by my performance as its chief executive.
The cooperation of government at its different levels is important and can only be achieved as long as the people of Chicago are directly involved in our efforts and supportive of our goals.
Be assured that I did not become the Mayor of Chicago to preside over its decline.
The people ask much, often more than any government can give. We must resist the temptation to promise solutions to all problems.
Politics never takes a holiday in Chicago.
Tonight - by taking this solemn oath - I am no longer a private citizen but the Mayor of the City of Chicago.
The greatest sin is sinning against love.
As CNN saw our growth in African-American viewership, they affirmed a fundamental truth of news coverage - people will watch you if they see themselves in what you report. It doesn't hurt if the people doing the reporting look like them, too.
Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.
i cried when i saw those buildings collapse on themselves like a broken heart.