Obama Will Be in Chicago to Discuss Supreme Court Nominee Merrick Garland

CHICAGO, IL - President Barack Obama will be at the University of Chicago next week to discuss the Supreme Court nomination of Chicago-area native Merrick Garland for the first time.

The president will host a town-hall style discussion at the University of Chicago Law School Thursday morning, White House officials have confirmed.

Obama’s message will center of the importance of Garland - a Lincolnwood native and 1970 graduate of Niles West High School - receiving “a fair hearing and an up-or-down vote."

RELATED: Obama Nominates Lincolnwood Native Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court

The Hyde Park university has several ties to the Supreme Court vacancy.

Obama taught constitutional law there from 1992 and 2004 and still owns a home in nearby Kenwood.

The man Obama has slated Garland to replace, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, also taught constitutional law there. Scalia was a University of Chicago professor from 1977 to 1982, when he was appointed to the Supreme Court by then President Ronald Reagan.

The Obama Presidential Center - which will include a library and museum - is also planned to take shape in the neighborhood after the president’s second term ends in 2017.

White House officials have said Obama wants to discuss Garland’s qualifications and the hope that he can join the nation’s highest court as “quickly as possible” when he meets with students on Thursday.