Edited by David Bernstein and Jennifer Tanaka
Reported by Richard Babcock, David Bernstein, Esther Kang, James Merriner, Graham Meyer, and Jennifer Tanaka

After this, perhaps the meatiest presidential contest in recent memory, the time has come to tally the score. We watched as the candidates threw bombs, the gaffes piled up, old friendships came to the fore, and new alliances were forged. Obviously, Barack and Michelle Obama were the biggest winners—but, on the local scene, who emerged better off? Which institutions stand to gain? And, in the fine spirit of bi-partisanship, who among us were the losers?

UPDATE: Since going to press with this story in mid-December, we have watched news events overtake a few of our predictions. Notably, Jesse Jackson Jr. was caught up in Rod Blagojevich’s corruption drama, dragging with it Chicago-style politics back into the mud. Among the winners validated: Arne Duncan was named secretary of education, merely one of many Friends of Barack Obama to head to Washington this month.

THE WINNERS >>
Including David Axelrod, Bill Ayers, Abraham Lincoln, Wilco, and the Adler Planetarium’s "overhead projector"

THE LOSERS >>
Jeremiah Wright, Michael Jordan, John Kass, Chicago drivers, Northwestern University, and more