SPRINGFIELD - The capital city was bustling with pomp and pageantry Monday as Gov. Rod Blagojevich and all statewide officers were sworn into office.

They celebrated by hosting a number of parties and receptions. Here is a sampling of some of the sights and sounds heard and seen on Inauguration Day:

- The soundtrack of the governor's march toward a second term began purposefully with a 70-piece military band playing a serious, forceful song titled "The Commando March." But the mood was quickly broken when the band broke into a spirited rendition of the "Liberty Bell March," which, by the way, served as the theme song for "Monty Python's Flying Circus."

- "Everything today has a glossy coating to it. But the hard, cold reality of our budget problems is right around the corner," said state Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington.

- Attendance at the swearing-in ceremony at Springfield's Prairie Capital Convention Center was down from 2003, but the temperature was up. The event took place with blue skies above, gusty winds on the streets and a temperature hovering around the 40-degree mark. That compares to the 27-degree day four years ago.

- The average wait to visit with the governor at the Executive Mansion was estimated at about an hour by a police officer standing at the end of the line. However, visits with the governor were restricted to about a minute each, his spokesman said.

- Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn's post-inaugural reception featured guests from all over the state, but maybe too many. As a line of about 45 people stood behind her waiting in line for the vegetable bar, Quinn spokeswoman Elizabeth Austin smiled politely before confessing, "We are expecting way more people than we've got food for."

- Meanwhile, back at the Executive Mansion, Blagojevich spokesman Gerardo Cardenas said the governor would not be answering any questions from the press. To ensure that this was the case, no reporters were allowed in the room where the governor was shaking hands with well-wishers. Television cameras, however, were willingly accommodated by the governor and his staff.

- Audience members thought they had a bona fide celebrity in their midst at the ceremony when Harlequin novel cover boy Fabio appeared on two large display screens. But as the press converged on him, the Fabio ringer revealed that he was in fact Dan Colla, a childhood friend of Blagojevich. "Just about every day someone mistakes me for him," Colla said of Fabio. For what it's worth, Colla did say that Fabio is a friend of his too.

"I've been standing for three hours but I am happy to keep standing, sir," said Cadet Lt. Col. Christopher Castle, a visibly exhausted senior from Pekin Community High School who was helping inaugural attendees find their seats.

- It's not often that a mid-level government bureaucrat sings the "Star-Spangled Banner" at an inaugural event. Then again, David Phelps of Eldorado isn't just your average state worker. Phelps, a gospel singer now with the Illinois Department of Transportation, cut his political teeth as a state representative and U.S. congressman.

- If there was any doubt state government is dominated by Chicagoans, the person who received the most applause when special guests were being introduced was Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.