Chicago

Lawsuit Filed to Block Obama Center in Chicago Park

Protect Our Parks contends the Obama Foundation has engaged in a "bait-and-switch" over a presidential library

Public park advocates have filed a lawsuit against the city of Chicago seeking to stop construction of former President Barack Obama's presidential center.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports the federal lawsuit by Protect Our Parks Inc. seeks a court order barring the Chicago Park District and other city agencies from approving the building of the center in Jackson Park on the South Side. The group also wants to bar the city from giving control of the center's site to the Obama Foundation.

Protect Our Parks contends the Obama Foundation has engaged in a "bait-and-switch." It alleges the original plan was to transfer park land to the foundation to house an official Obama library. They say the center will not include an official presidential library.

A spokesman for Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement the center is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to invest millions of dollars on the South Side.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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