Federal Lawsuit Filed Over Obama Center Planned Park Use

As the Obama Presidential Center looks for new city approval this week a federal lawsuit is filed opposing the use of Jackson Park.

The group filing the suit, Protect Our Parks, says the Obama Foundation is serving its needs and not the needs of the public.

The Obama center plans to build a 12 story building and other structures between 59th 62nd streets along Stony Island Avenue. Streets like Marquette Drive will close. That will impact neighbors and the wildlife as major changes will take place at Jackson Park.

Protect our Parks filed a federal lawsuit saying the Obama Foundation has committed "an institutional bait and switch."

Friends of the Park, a separate group that fought and prevented building the Lucas Museum near Soldier Field is not a party to this lawsuit.

Obama Foundation

Set in the heart of historic Jackson Park, on Chicago’s South Side, the Obama Presidential Center will tell the story of the Obama Administration, its achievements, challenges and lessons learned.

Obama Foundation

The Center will be the home of the Obama Foundation.

Obama Foundation

The center will also house the archives of administration materials, both traditional documentation and multimedia content of the first truly digital president.

Obama Foundation

A ribbon of world-class cultural institutions stretches across the South Side, from the South Shore Cultural Center up the lakefront to the Museum of Science and Industry, to the University of Chicago and its many museums and performance spaces, and the DuSable Museum of African American History in Washington Park.

Obama Foundation

The Obama Foundation said it is excited to become a part of the ongoing story of Jackson Park and to contribute to the rich history of the South Side as a whole.

The promise of creating thousands of jobs, as well as a magnet for economic growth, has those who live there divided.