House Next to Obamas' Chicago Digs Hits Market

Got a couple million and think you can pass a Secret Service background check? The house next door to President Obama’s Chicago digs is on sale, the Tribune reports. Round-the-clock protection puts the 17-room brick home in the city’s Hyde Park neighborhood in “the world’s ultimate gated community,” says the real-estate agent in charge of the listing, adding that he expects it to go for around $2 million.

“It’s had its ups and downs,” says the current owner, looking for smaller quarters after buying the house for $35,000 in 1973. “Initially, having to go through justifying being on the block is a little awkward. I used to tease these guys it was easier to get into East Berlin. Now when I look at it, it’s the safest block in town, it’s the most prestigious block in town. I say this to myself a couple times a day when I’m going through the barricades.”
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