Obama speechwriter to speak at Elmhurst College

ELMHURST - Jon Favreau, chief speechwriter and senior aide to President Barack Obama during the 2008 and 2012 elections, will present "Tweets, Speeches and Storytelling: Messages from the 2016 Election" on March 9 at Elmhurst College.

As part of the College's Rudolf G. Schade Lecture Series, Favreau's talk will explore the messages and moments that had the biggest impact on the 2016 presidential election, with insights into Donald Trump's rise, Hillary Clinton's challenges, and the effects of the media and the national mood following one of the most unusual races in American history.

Favreau began writing with President Obama in 2005, when Obama started his first term as a U.S. senator from Illinois, and had a hand in crafting nearly every major speech that the president delivered over the last eight years. Favreau's passion for writing and public service first developed at the College of the Holy Cross, where he graduated with degrees in political science and sociology in 2003.

"Tweets, Speeches and Storytelling" will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 9, in Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel, 190 Prospect Ave., Elmhurst. Admission is $10 for the general public and free for Elmhurst College students, faculty, staff and alumni. Tickets are available by visiting www.elmhurst.edu/tix. For more information, call (630) 617-5186. The event is sponsored in large part by BMO Harris Bank.