When Peter Hannaford and I first spotlighted the plight of the Chicago home where President Reagan lived as a young child, the most reliable sources thought the building, owned by the University of Chicago, would be demolished by Jan. 1.

Conservative radio host Tom Roeser, who passed away in May 2011, was the one who found out, while talking with former California Gov. Ronald Reagan as they rushed through the O’Hare Airport concourse in 1979 and then over lunch, that young “Dutch” Reagan had lived in Chicago for a time while his father worked at Marshall Field’s. Roeser made a mental note that, should Reagan be elected president, it would be important to figure out exactly where he had lived and when. Accordingly, in 1981, Roeser ferreted out clues by talking with Reagan and his staff and soon hit pay dirt. In 1986, while Reagan was president, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks described his childhood home as being “noteworthy due to historical associations,” giving it “landmark potential.”