Community leaders and longtime residents on Chicago’s South Side are voicing concerns that the Obama Presidential Center could displace families and alter the fabric of their neighborhoods.
Critics say luxury developments tied to the project — including a proposed 250-room hotel — are pushing up rents and property taxes, potentially pricing out working-class residents.
“This is a monument to one man’s ego,” Steve Cortes, a Chicagoan and former Trump advisor, told the Daily Mail. “Look at the Reagan Library. It’s beautiful. This? There are almost no windows. What are they hiding?”
Construction has moved slowly since breaking ground, with costs ballooning from an initial $330 million estimate to over $830 million as of 2021.
Local Officials Call for Protections
Alderwoman Jeanette Taylor, who represents the surrounding area, has pushed for safeguards such as affordable housing requirements and tenant protections.
While she secured a 2020 agreement requiring 30% of new units on city-owned land to be affordable, her broader call for a binding Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) was rejected.
“The city of Chicago should have done a Community Benefits Agreement before the first shovel