SOUTH LOOP — President Barack Obama will make a farewell speech where he started his political career: in Chicago.
In a letter sent to the White House email list Monday, Obama said he is beginning to write his remarks for the Jan. 10 party at McCormick Place, 2301 S. King Drive, which will be a thank-you to supporters as well as a reflection on what he's accomplished in the last 8 years.
"Since 2009, we've faced our fair share of challenges, and come through them stronger," the email reads. "That's because we have never let go of a belief that has guided us ever since our founding—our conviction that, together, we can change this country for the better."
Tickets to the event will be free, and those who want to attend in person can get them on a first-come, first-served basis at McCormick Place on Jan. 7. The White House said it will release more information about what time to get the tickets soon.
The speech will start around 5 p.m. on Jan. 10, and stream live here.
"I'm just beginning to write my remarks," Obama wrote in an email. "But I'm thinking about them as a chance to say thank you for this amazing journey, to celebrate the ways you've changed this country for the better these past eight years, and to offer some thoughts on where we all go from here."
Obama ends his term as president and leaves the White House on the morning of Jan. 20. As President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated, large scale protests are planned for Washington D.C. and in Chicago.
Read President Obama's full letter to supporters here:
In 1796, as George Washington set the precedent for a peaceful, democratic transfer of power, he also set a precedent by penning a farewell address to the American people. And over the 220 years since, many American presidents have followed his lead.
On Tuesday, January 10, I'll go home to Chicago to say my grateful farewell to you, even if you can't be there in person.
I'm just beginning to write my remarks. But I'm thinking about them as a chance to say thank you for this amazing journey, to celebrate the ways you've changed this country for the better these past eight years, and to offer some thoughts on where we all go from here.
Since 2009, we've faced our fair share of challenges, and come through them stronger. That's because we have never let go of a belief that has guided us ever since our founding—our conviction that, together, we can change this country for the better.
So I hope you'll join me one last time.
Because, for me, it's always been about you.
President Barack Obama
