Obama's back

Obama's back: Former president to hold Chicago event on Monday

By EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE

Former President Barack Obama will make his first public appearance Monday, hosting an event on civic engagement on his old stomping grounds at the University of Chicago.

The event, open to the public but with limited tickets, will bring together younger leaders and students “for a conversation on community organizing and civic engagement.”

It won’t be an explicitly political event.

As an Illinois state senator, Obama once represented the neighborhood where the campus is located and also was a law professor at the university. He last stopped by the campus in 2016, using an event at the law school to make a push for his failed attempt to appoint Antonin Scalia’s replacement on the Supreme Court.

“This event is part of President Obama’s post-presidency goal to encourage and support the next generation of leaders driven by strengthening communities around the country and the world,” the event program states.

The focus on younger leaders will be a significant part of his post-presidency, much of which is still being formulated. According to people familiar with the plans, Obama will talk about how people like those who are part of the event inspired him to get into politics when he was a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago.

Obama’s last event in Chicago was his farewell address just before the end of his term, in which he stressed the idea of being an active citizen. Monday’s event continues that theme.

Obama’s largely been on vacation since leaving office with trips to the Caribbean with Richard Branson and more recently in the South Pacific with Bruce Springsteen, Oprah and Tom Hanks. He also has started working on his memoirs.