Emanuel: 'The City Of Chicago Is Ready For Change'

UPDATED 05/16/11 5:00 p.m.

CHICAGO (CBS) -- In his inauguration speech Monday morning, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the more than any other time and place, "the city of Chicago is ready for change."

He pledged to take up the challenge of improving the city's schools, making the streets safer, cutting costs and improving efficiency and city government, and doing his part to improve the city's economy and create more jobs.

FULL TEXT of Mayor Emanuel's Inauguration Speech

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"As your new mayor, it is an honor to fight for the change we need and a privilege to lead the city we love," he said during the 23-minute address.

SLIDESHOW: Mayor Emanuel's Inaugural

Emanuel lauded retiring Mayor Richard M. Daley for turning the city around in his 22 years in office.

"A generation ago, people were writing Chicago off as a dying city. They said our downtown was failing, our neighborhoods were unlivable, our schools were the worst in the nation, and our politics had become so divisive we were referred to as Beirut on the Lake," Emanuel said. "When Richard M. Daley took office as mayor 22 years ago, he challenged all of us to lower our voices and raise our sights. Chicago is a different city today than the one Mayor Daley inherited, thanks to all he did. This magnificent place where we gather today is a living symbol of that transformation."

In particular, Emanuel pointed out, when Mayor Daley took office, the magnificent Millennium Park where he was speaking was a sunken, abandoned rail yard.

Emanuel became choked up as he thanked his parents and the education and values they imparted. He also thanked President Barack Obama "who turned our nation around and who loves Chicago so much."

The new mayor repeated many of the same goals he has been stating since he was elected in February, beginning with the Chicago Public Schools. He pledged to lengthen the school day in and school year as legislation recently approved by state lawmakers now permits. Gov. Pat Quinn, who was present at the inauguration, must still sign the legislation.

"As some have noted, including my wife, I am not a patient man," Emanuel said. "When it comes to improving our schools, I will not be a patient mayor."

Also essential, Emanuel said, is making the city's streets safer. He talked about a memorial he visited in the Far South Side's Roseland neighborhood, where the names of children killed by gun violence are listed. It is already out of space, and there are 150 more names to be added.

"That memorial does more than mourn the dead. It shames the living. It should prod all of us -- every adult who failed those kids -- to step in, stand up and speak out," he said.

Emanuel also acknowledged the city's financial situation is dire.

"The old ways no longer work," he said. "It is time for a new era of responsibility and reform."

Emanuel received applause when he took a shot at the governors of Wisconsin and Ohio, who have recently spearheaded legislation that took away collective bargaining rights for state workers. He accused them of "exploiting their fiscal crisis to achieve a political goal."

But Chicago cannot just stick to business as usual either, Emanuel said.

"Chicago is the city of 'yes, we can' -- not 'no, we can't.'" Emanuel said. "From now on, when it comes to change, Chicago will not take no for an answer."

Finally, Emanuel said, "we need to make Chicago the best place in America to start a business, create good jobs, and gain the knowledge and skills to fill the jobs of tomorrow," particularly given that Chicago lost 200,000 people in the 2010 Census, and "no great city can thrive by shrinking."

"Stronger schools. Safer streets. An effective and affordable government. Good-paying jobs. These are the fundamental challenges confronting our city," Emanuel said. "If we can get these things right, nothing can stop Chicago. And people will come to see a city on the move."

Emanuel was sworn in by Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy Evans just before 11:25 a.m. Mayor Richard M. Daley and Vice President Joseph Biden stood alongside Emanuel before he was sworn in.

The inaugural ceremony began at 10:30 a.m., with prayers and musical performances. City Clerk Susana Mendoza was sworn in by Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke at 10:40 a.m., and Mendoza herself swore in the City Council five minutes later.

Following a prayer and a poem, City Treasurer Stephanie Neely was sworn in by Cook County Circuit Court Judge Shelli Williams Hayes around 11:15 a.m.

Biden praised Emanuel's speech. Daley said he liked the  "passion" in the inaugural remarks.

"I've always said Rahm is like a heat-seeking missile: Whatever the target is, he hits it,"  Emanuel friend and adviser David Axelrod said. "He'll set goals for the city, and he'll achieve those goals."

"I particularly liked the cost-control part," said U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, a Republican. "Because we have to have the government that we can afford."