CHICAGO — Former President Barack Obama is expected to speak at the University of Chicago on Monday.
The event will mark the first time Obama has given a speech since leaving office in January. He will be joined by a group of young people, according to Kevin Lewis, an Obama spokesman, and they'll discuss community organizing and civic engagement.
According to Lewis, the event is meant to be nonpartisan and will include similar themes on the civic engagement that Obama has talked about including as part of the mission of his presidential center.
He said Obama has invited six young activists to join him on stage to talk about their work on initiatives, including voter registration drives, mentoring programs and food drives. One of the activists is is a student from Kenwood Academy, Lewis said.
"Everyone on the stage has done something in the community," Lewis said.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he was "immensely proud" that his former boss chose Chicago not only for his last speech as president but also for the first speech of his post-presidency.
"It reflects his emotional as well his intellectual commitment to this city, and seeing this city as his home," Emanuel said.
Tickets to the event were sent out to the city's universities — U. of C., Northwestern, Loyola, Chicago State, Roosevelt and the University of Illinois at Chicago — and no more tickets are available, according to Lewis. The event will be televised.
The former president will stay in Chicago for several days after the event, according to the Tribune.
