On this Martin Luther King Day, the president will be sworn in for a second term and Illinois politicians will be on hand to witness the event.

Gov. Pat Quinn is in Washington to see Illinois’ favorite son sworn in. “It’s a proud day for the United States of America and a proud day Illinois. A favorite son of Illinois, President Barack Obama, will be sworn in again as president and he’s an inspiration to all of us,” Quinn said. He says there is special meaning to see Obama sworn in on Martin Luther King Day. “To have the president, President Barack Obama, inaugurated on that very day in 2013, 50 years after the “I Have a Dream”speech, I think is God’s grace,” Quinn said.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) will also be at the inauguration. He says the actions of the president in this second term will mirror what was said on the campaign trail. “I thought the president was successful in that election campaign not only because of himself and being a good candidate and a great organization, it was an inclusive message,” Durbin said. “It was a message that basically said to the people of America ‘let’s come together; we can solve these problems if we come together.’”

The official theme for the 2013 inauguration is “Faith in America’s Future,” and marks the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and the placement of the Statue of Freedom atop the Capitol Dome in 1863.

(Posted 1/21/2013 at 7:22am, Illinois Radio Network)