The final preparations are being put in place Sunday night for the inauguration at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. Emanuel is scheduled to be sworn in just past noon.
While he's paid tribute to his predecessor, Emanuel is already letting the city know that things will not be the same.
"The status quo from the safety of our streets to our schools to city finances is not working for the people of the city of Chicago. We can't keep doing the same thing and expect the same results," Emanuel said.
One pressing issue is what to do about a projected half-billion dollar budget deficit looming for this year. On Sunday, even before he takes office, demonstrators were urging Emanuel not to solve the budget problems on the backs of working people.
"We're not gonna continue to let them think they can do what they wanna do with our neighborhoods, our schools, teacher layoffs, we're not gonna take it," said Michelle Young with Action Now at Sunday's demonstration.
The Mayor-elect hasn't said what he'll do about crime, which has dropped but is still a problem, or about the schools, which were a primary focus for Daley. But Emanuel has indicated he wants the community to be an integral part of the cure.
"To succeed in our schools, our teachers and parents need to work together. To succeed in fighting crime, the community has to work with the law enforcement community. It's about coming forward, stepping up and taking responsibility," Emanuel said.
Additionally, Emanuel seems to be talking about changing some of the ways the city has been governed.
"I'm going to look hard at city government, ask some fundamental questions that haven't been asked in a long time. They need to be asked finally, 'Is this the best we can do?'" Emanuel said.
The man who had a reputation as an intense overachiever when he was White House Chief of Staff is making it clear that he has a plan and intends to move quickly to implement it.
"I have an agenda for the first 100 days in this city, to challenge the status quo and get the city moving. I also have a first year timeline and then I have a first term timeline," said Emanuel, which could mean he's already thinking about a second term.
ABC7's live coverage of the inauguration of Rahm Emanuel begins Monday at 10 a.m. Linda Yu and Sylvia Perez will anchor ABC7's coverage with live reports from throughout Millennium Park. You can also watch the story unfold live on our website: ABC7Chicago.com
