President Barack Obama was sworn into a second term of office at a private ceremony in the White House Sunday.

The rare small ceremony was necessary because January 20th falls on a Sunday.

Tomorrow, President Obama will be take a public oath of office and his inauguration celebrations have a Chicago flavor.

The South Shore Drill team rode a bus to the nation’s capital to perform, participate in democracy and bear witness to history.

“I think it’s just wonderful. It’s a wonderful thing,” said team member Sean Smith.  “Hopefully we get to see him.”

A lot of Chicagoans are hoping to catch a glimpse of their re-elected president. Some, like Cecelia Bolden, packed up the car, pulled the kids out of school and hit the road cross-country to be part of this.

“They need to recognize and understand the role of government and where we’ve come as a people of color,” she said. “And our president represents all those things.”

Officials are setting up for close to a million people and it continues down to the wire around the National Mall. It’s an event that has Illinois all over it.

Even seasoned veterans of political life think it’s a pretty big deal. Just ask this presidential mentor, advisor and confidant, Dick Durbin, who has great expectations for this second term.

“He’s been through four years and he’s learned; his strengths, his weaknesses, “Durbin said.  “We’ve got four years ahead of us to do something and not think about the next campaign. And I hope we will. I think this President’s really focused on that.”