{UAH} Chicago's south side selected future home of Barack Obama Presidential Center
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Chicago's south side selected future home of Barack Obama Presidential Center
It wasn't a total surprise, but until Chicagoans actually heard it from the President Barack Obama and the First Lady, Michelle Obama, there was nervous excitement around Chicago. The question was about the location of the Barack Obama Presidential Center. Today, the Barack Obama Foundation announced on their website that the future Barack Obama Presidential Center – which will include the library, museum, as well as office and activity space for the Foundation – will be located on Chicago's South Side. The question of a decision on whether it will be in Jackson Park or Washington Park is some time away.
However, the Barack Obama Presidential Center will indeed be located in Chicago and more specifically, on the south side. Chicago it is.
The day started with the President and First Lady releasing the recording of a video, announcing their decision to bring the Obama Presidential Center to Chicago's South Side. That was followed up by a noon press conference making the announcement at the South Side Gary Comer Youth Center led by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and several others, including, Barack Obama Foundation chair Marty Nesbitt, who said at a news conference in Chicago that the center is projected to open sometime in 2020 or 2021, according to Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun Times.
"The city of Chicago was instrumental in demonstrating to the President and First Lady the advantages of locating the future Obama Presidential Center in the city, and the University of Chicago brought to life the broad potential and vital energy of the South Side," said Foundation Chairman Martin Nesbitt. "The Obamas have so much more to do in the White House and beyond, and we are excited to create a platform for their future work. Our goal will be to establish a Center that will exist not merely as testament to the President and First Lady's legacy, but as a dynamic, vibrant forum for civic participation, education, action, and progress. We are especially looking forward to engaging with the vibrant South Side community in the years to come."
"We were impressed by the quality of each proposal and, as a result, we plan to continue working with each institution to incorporate elements of their proposals into the future Obama Presidential Center," added Nesbitt.
The Barack Obama Foundation – led by close family and friends of President Obama – will be responsible for all aspects of the building, construction, design, and planning processes for the Obama Presidential Center. In the coming months, the Foundation will look to enter into an agreement with the City of Chicago to develop the Center in either Washington Park or Jackson Park. As a future neighbor and collaborator on the Center, the University of Chicago has pledged to make resources and infrastructure available to the Foundation in the near term for its planning and development work.
President Obama said, "With a library and a foundation on the South Side of Chicago, not only will we be able to encourage and affect change locally, but what we can also do is to attract the world to Chicago." The President continued, "All the strands of my life came together and I really became a man when I moved to Chicago. That's where I was able to apply that early idealism to try to work in communities in public service. That's where I met my wife. That's where my children were born."
First Lady Michelle Obama said, "I'm thrilled to be able to put this resource in the heart of the neighborhood that means the world to me. Every value, every memory, every important relationship to me exists in Chicago. I consider myself a South Sider."
According to the website, over the last 15 months, the Foundation has considered a number of key factors in locating the future Center, such as transportation and accessibility, local economic development opportunities, community interest and the potential for academic collaboration. The South Side offered several unique advantages, including its significant community support for the project, proximity to the University of Chicago's hub of activity, strong economic development potential, and its rich history that helped shape President Obama's worldview.
Both the President and the First Lady worked at the U. of Chicago – and their daughters attended the U. of Chicago Lab school before the family moved to the White House. Their closest friends and supporters are all connected to the U. of Chicago in one way or another.
"We are deeply appreciative that President Obama, Mrs. Obama, and the Barack Obama Foundation selected Chicago's South Side as the home for the Obama Presidential Center, a decision that creates major opportunities for the South Side and the city of Chicago," said University of Chicago President Robert J. Zimmer in a statement.
The center is expected to be an economic engine in a part of Chicago that needs it. Carol Adams, the former President and CEO of the DuSable Museum of African American History, said at the press conference, that the project will be "Chicago's iconic black Metropolis."
She said the south side is "a community overflowing with assets yet also in need of the catalytic engine the Obama Presidential Center will surely be."
Sen. Dick Durbin D-Ill. said in a statement posted on his facebook page, that Obama's "legacy will be preserved right where it belongs: sweet home Chicago. I'm happy to join Mayor Emanuel in making this historic decision as well."
Longtime Obama friend dating back to being a member of the Illinois state legislature, Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-IL) issued the following statement today in response to the city's selection as the site for the future presidential library:
I'm thrilled that President Obama has chosen Chicago's South Side as the site for his presidential library and museum. In addition to being a premiere attraction of the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois, the library will anchor an economic development boon on the South Side that will create jobs and enrich the quality of life in the area. Perhaps most importantly, the building of a monument in honor of our country's first African-American president will have an indelible impact for generations, as a testament to both the progress and the promise of our nation.
The Foundation intends to maintain a presence at Columbia University for the purpose of exploring and developing opportunities for a long term association. In addition, the Foundation will work with the state of Hawaii to establish a lasting presence in Honolulu. Within Chicago, in addition to its association with the University of Chicago, the Foundation also plans to collaborate with the University of Illinois – Chicago.
The choice of Chicago is wildly popular with Chicagoans, will polls showing an overwhelming support for the Obama Library to be located here. During the recent 2015 Municipal election, Emanuel opponent Jesus 'Chuy' Garcia suggested that the library being located here needed closer scrutiny, and that led to a swift and immediate backlash against Garcia. He was never able to recover from that stumble.
The Barack Obama Foundation and The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) will work together in developing the Barack Obama Presidential Library and Museum as part of a larger Obama Presidential Center. The Obama Foundation will raise all of the funds needed for construction of the project; neither federal funds nor university funds will be used in the construction of the facilities. When the construction is complete, the Foundation will transfer the Library and Museum to NARA, which will operate the Obama Library along with the 13 other Presidential Libraries. The Foundation will be responsible for funding and operating the rest of the Center. These plans build upon the longstanding public-private partnership between NARA's Presidential Libraries and the private Presidential foundations.
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