Nothing says Memorial Day weekend like hot dogs, hamburgers, and…police barricades? President Barack Obama is back in town this weekend for the first time since 2009.
While Obama made two day trips to Chicago last summer, the family hasn’t stayed overnight in Kenwood since a Valentine’s Day weekend visit in 2009—a far cry from plans of visiting the city every six to eight months.
One reason the Obamas have cited for not visiting more often is the inconvenience their visits cause for the neighborhood. For the Valentine’s Day visit, people with cars in the surrounding blocks of the Obama’s home on South Greenwood Avenue at East 51st Street were asked to move the cars—or risk having them towed. Police cars and barricades have been set up, and similar safety measures by the police and Secret Service are likely to be enforced for the visit.
Hopefully the Obamas have fences good enough to make good neighbors; it’ll be the first time their new neighbors will be graced—or inconvenienced—by a visit from the Obamas. Plastic surgeon Dr. George Moynihan and his wife, Lara Moynihan, recently bought the house next to the Obamas for $1.4 million, according to an article Tuesday in the Chicago Sun-Times.
Obama is skipping out on a traditional Memorial Day service at Washington’s Arlington Cemetery but will attend a Memorial Day Ceremony at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, IL, on Monday. Some conservatives, including former Bush White House press secretary Dana Perino, are wondering why Obama chose Memorial Day for his trip, saying it sends the wrong message about Obama’s priorities in an interview with FOX News Thursday.
Other plans for this weekend include a side trip to Lousiana to see oil spill damage.