Obama to skip jury service

US president Barack Obama has skipped jury service after being summoned in Illinois, it emerged today.

A White House official said the president had alerted the court that he would not be able to make it.

Mr Obama was summoned for jury duty at the Bridgeview court in suburban Chicago from today.

The summons had arrived at the Obama home on Chicago’s South Side.

With his first State of the Union speech set for Wednesday, Mr Obama has a busy week ahead.

Mr Obama was a US senator from Illinois before he was elected to the White House.