President Obama will break tradition next week to deliver his farewell speech outside of the beltway, a move he said on Saturday is meant as a salute to the town that gave him his start in politics.
“I chose Chicago not only because it’s my hometown — where I met my wife and we started a family — but also because it’s really where my career in public service began,” Obama said in his weekly White House address.
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It’s the first time in the 220-year history of the speech that a president has returned to his hometown to bid adieu to the American people while also outlining his vision for the future and touting his administration’s achievements.
As a former senator who started as a community organizer, Obama implored people to “get involved, get engaged, and come together in collective effort.”
In a preview of what he will likely say about his administration’s eight years of work on Tuesday, Obama touted poverty falling, incomes rising and wages that have jumped in recent years. Obama noted the 20 million people who signed up for health insurance under Obamacare, a cornerstone bill to his time in office.
The president also celebrated bringing troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as taking down al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, though he did not discuss accusations that removing troops from that region destabilized it and led to the growth of the Islamic State.
“By these measures and many more, we have made America a better, stronger place for the generations that follow ours,” said Obama.
The president’s Tuesday address is expected to be his final public speech before he leaves office on Jan. 20.
