HYDE PARK — President Barack Obama will make a stop at home on Thursday when he comes to Chicago to name the Pullman Historic District a national monument.
Neighbors near the president’s home at 5046 S. Greenwood Ave. were warned Tuesday that travel in Hyde Park and Kenwood will be affected during Obama's visit.
Obama will visit Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep, 250 E. 111 St., to officially mark portions of Pullman being named a national monument, adding it to a list that also includes the Statue of Liberty and the Washington Monument.
At a Bronzeville campaign appearance Wednesday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he was looking forward to welcoming the president. Emanuel added that what he called "the Pullman promise" or "the Pullman renaissance" was "built on the foundation of what we've invested there," for instance by adding a science-technology-engineering-math curriculum at Gwendolyn Brooks.
Emanuel is counting on Obama to gain votes for him in the African-American community, as he did four years ago, as Emanuel bids to gain a majority of votes and avoid a runoff in Tuesday's election.
Mayoral challenger Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd) brushed off the president's visit, pointing out he actually serves on the Historic Pullman Foundation Board and has advocated the Pullman designation for years, but that "the White House has yet to reach out" to him on the visit.
"Five days before Election Day, the president is coming to town to make this announcement," said Fioretti spokesman Michael Kolenc. "Hopefully he will be inviting some of the grassroots activists that have been working five decades to make this day a reality."
The president’s full schedule was not yet available from the White House, and it was unclear what else Obama would be doing while in town.
Just five days before the mayoral election, the president could take the opportunity to vote or shop around for a home for his presidential library and museum.
The two sites proposed for the Obama Presidential Library by the University of Chicago are close to the president’s home and en route between his home and Pullman
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