At a Lakeview tavern, they celebrated the inauguration — and Kamala Harris breaking the vice presidential glass ceiling — by having a few glasses of champagne.
"That's part of my story because I'm a woman and I have a daughter," explained Melani Hoffman, owner of The Green Lady Tavern, where the windows were wide open.
The North Lincoln Avenue bar opened at 10:30 a.m. for patrons who wanted to gather to watch the inauguration and see history being made. The temperature was in the 20s.
"I woke up this morning and I felt like a weight was lifted. Everything just kind of felt calmer for some reason. There's definitely a lot of emotion going on right now," said Sean Johnson of Andersonville, who watched the TV from a bar stool near the big openwindow.
"I'm a proud American today. Probably for the first time in four years."
The Green Lady tavern in Chicago on Inauguration Day.WBBM Newsradio
