President Obama wraps State of Union speech tour in Chicago

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is wrapping up his post-State of the Union tour by talking about how government can build “ladders of opportunity” into the middle class.

During remarks Friday at Hyde Park Academy in Chicago, his hometown, Obama takes up proposals to raise the federal minimum wage and pair businesses with recession-battered communities to help them rebuild and provide job training. He also was to talk about creating jobs for young people from poor families, and encouraging fatherhood and low-income couples to marry.

It remains to be seen whether the proposals...