Katherine Biek
If Barack Obama Said It, Cody Keenan Likely Wrote It
Cody Keenan led a team that he says penned 3,577 speeches and statements for President Barack Obama.
LEARN MOREPosted: 5:27 p.m. EDT Apr 21, 2017
Barack Obama's post-White-House honeymoon is coming to an end.
After three months of rest and relaxation — and even some kite surfing with business mogul Richard Branson — the former U.S. president will step back into the spotlight Monday.
For his first public appearance since he left office Jan. 20, Obama will speak at a town-hall-style gathering at the University of Chicago.
Tickets were given to a handful of schools and minority-serving organizations in the area. A spokesperson for Obama told the Chicago Tribune that about six people have been selected to appear on stage with the former president for a discussion.
It's not surprising Obama chose Chicago for his public appearance.
He was a professor at the university's law school for 12 years before he was elected to the U.S. Senate. And his presidential library will be built in Chicago.
According to The New York Times, the one thing Obama's aides say he will not do is criticize President Donald Trump in paid private speeches.
Not speaking ill of successors falls in line with a sort-of unwritten rule other former presidents followed.
The Chicago event kicks off a month of Obama's public appearances, including accepting the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in Boston and meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.
