Barack Obama Day day. Perry County, Alabama, has celebrated the second Monday of November as Barack Obama Day since 2009. County offices and schools are closed for the holiday. In 2017, Illinois State Representatives André Thapedi and Sonya Harper introduced a bill to designate Barack Obama Day as a state holiday. The original measure would have closed schools and state offices for the day. It was rejected by the House in March 2017, citing expense and the lack of a holiday for other presidents from Illinois, such as Ronald Reagan. That same year, State Senator Emil Jones III and others introduced Illinois Senate
Barack Obama election, Obama won with 70% of the vote. Obama was sworn in as a senator on January 3, 2005, becoming the only Senate member of the Congressional Black Caucus. "CQ Weekly" characterized him as a "loyal Democrat" based on analysis of all Senate votes from 2005 to 2007. Obama announced on November 13, 2008, that he would resign his Senate seat on November 16, 2008, before the start of the lame-duck session, to focus on his transition period for the presidency. A photo has emerged of then-Senator Obama standing with controversial Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan during a 2005