Former President Barack Obama to report for jury duty in Chicago Wednesday

Eric Horng Image
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Former President Barack Obama to report for jury duty in Chicago Wednesday
Sources confirmed that former president Barack Obama will be in Chicago Wednesday for jury duty.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Sources confirmed that former President Barack Obama will be in Chicago Wednesday for jury duty.

The former president has long been outspoken about the importance of civic engagement. Just last week, while in the city for the first Obama Foundation Summit, he extolled the virtues of public service.

"Ordinary people in local communities can do extraordinary things when they're given a chance," he said.

Now President Obama, a constitutional scholar, will fulfill his civic duty.

Sources told ABC7 Eyewitness News he'll report for jury duty Wednesday morning to a Cook County courthouse in Chicago, where he's expected to go through the same mundane drill as the rest of us.

He's hardly the only former president to receive a summons. George W. Bush had jury duty in 2015, and Bill Clinton reported to serve in 2003. Neither ended up on a jury.

Presumably the president will be paid for his service just like everybody else. That amounts to $17.20 per day.