BLOOMINGTON -- For a few seconds, Barbara Segobiano was with the Chicago Olympics contingency in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The Bloomington woman had called her son, Michael Segobiano, just as he took the hand of Oprah Winfrey alongside Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. Segobiano gently turned off the cell phone in his pocket but later called and apologized to his mother.

Michael Segobiano, director of marketing for the City of Chicago, told his parents that the Chicago team has been very busy. "They did interviews; the Olympians were parading the streets with flags from Chicago, Illinois and the United States. It was very exhausting," said his father, Paul Segobiano, a McLean County board member.

Michael Segobiano was previously Chicago's director of special events and was chosen by the Daley for the bid team. As part of his work, he visited Beijing, China, during the 2008 Summer Olympics.

The connection already has paid off for his proud parents: they have what is likely the only Chicago Olympics 2016 flag in McLean County.

"As soon as we hear Chicago wins, (Paul) is going to raise it," Barbara Segobiano said.