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November 16, 2008

BY PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA

Today, I am ending one journey to begin another. After serving the = people of=20 Illinois in the United States Senate -- one of the highest honors and = privileges=20 of my life -- I am stepping down as senator to prepare for the = responsibilities=20 I will assume as our nation's next president. But I will never forget, = and will=20 forever be grateful, to the men and women of this great state who made = my life=20 in public service possible.

More than two decades ago, I arrived in Illinois as a young man eager = to do=20 my part in building a better America. On the South Side of Chicago, I = worked=20 with families who had lost jobs and lost hope when the local steel plant = closed.=20 It wasn't easy, but we slowly rebuilt those neighborhoods one block at a = time,=20 and in the process I received the best education I ever had. It's an = education=20 that led me to organize a voter registration project in Chicago, stand = up for=20 the rights of Illinois families as an attorney and eventually run for = the=20 Illinois state Senate.

It was in Springfield, in the heartland of America, where I saw all = that is=20 America converge -- farmers and teachers, businessmen and laborers, all = of them=20 with a story to tell, all of them seeking a seat at the table, all of = them=20 clamoring to be heard. It was there that I learned to disagree without = being=20 disagreeable; to seek compromise while holding fast to those principles = that can=20 never be compromised, and to always assume the best in people instead of = the=20 worst. Later, when I made the decision to run for the United States = Senate, the=20 core decency and generosity of the American people is exactly what I saw = as I=20 traveled across our great state -- from Chicago to Cairo; from Decatur = to=20 Quincy.

I still remember the young woman in East St. Louis who had the = grades, the=20 drive and the will but not the money to go to college. I remember the = young men=20 and women I met at VFW halls across the state who serve our nation = bravely in=20 Iraq and Afghanistan. And I will never forget the workers in Galesburg = who faced=20 the closing of a plant they had given their lives to, who wondered how = they=20 would provide health care to their sick children with no job and little = savings.=20

Stories like these are why I came to Illinois all those years ago, = and they=20 will stay with me when I go to the White House in January. The = challenges we=20 face as a nation are now more numerous and difficult than when I first = arrived=20 in Chicago, but I have no doubt that we can meet them. For throughout my = years=20 in Illinois, I have heard hope as often as I have heard heartache. Where = I have=20 seen struggle, I have seen great strength. And in a state as broad and = diverse=20 in background and belief as any in our nation, I have found a spirit of = unity=20 and purpose that can steer us through the most troubled waters.

It was long ago that another son of Illinois left for Washington. A = greater=20 man who spoke to a nation far more divided, Abraham Lincoln, said of his = home,=20 "To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything." = Today, I=20 feel the same, and like Lincoln, I ask for your support, your prayers, = and for=20 us to "confidently hope that all will yet be well."

With your help, = along=20 with the service and sacrifice of Americans across the nation who are = hungry for=20 change and ready to bring it about, I have faith that all will in fact = be well.=20 And it is with that faith, and the high hopes I have for the enduring = power of=20 the American idea, that I offer the people of my beloved home a very=20 affectionate thanks.