First thing I thought of when I saw the model.
Posted on 01/15/2018 4:30:51 PM PST by Liz
The Obama Foundation originally said it would house a presidential library on the property and vowed to have the National Archives oversee the facility because of its placement on public land. But that's no longer the case, and some are balking at the change in plans.
The Obama Foundation released plans last week for the presidential center it plans to build in Chicago's Jackson Park, but behind the scenes, a battle is taking place to keep the former Democratic president from building on that specific lot of land, and there's still a chance that it gets delayed when it seeks federal approval.
What initially started out as a library has morphed into a 20-acre private "center," and some environmentalists and historians are unhappy with the Obama Foundation's plans to swoop in and take over a national historic place.
The Obama Foundation originally said it would house a presidential library on the property and vowed to have the National Archives oversee the facility because of its placement on public land. But that's no longer the case, and some are balking at the change in plans.
[Obama Foundation's presidential center will include sledding hill, Women's Garden, sports center, test kitchen]
"Here’s our bottom line. If the Obama Foundation wishes to construct this center on Chicago’s South Side, that’s fine, but not on parkland held in public trust. The University of Chicago, which orchestrated the winning bid for the project, has plenty of land on the South Side that they could and should use.
Instead, they’ve been adamant since day one that they must have historic public parkland for the purpose," Charles Birnbaum, president and founder of D.C.-based nonprofit, the Cultural Landscape Foundation, told the Washington Examiner in a written statement Saturday. The foundation is not alone.
The group is working alongside a number of others, including Friends of the Parks, Jackson Park Watch, Openlands, National Association for Olmsted Parks, Save the Midway, Landmarks Illinois, and Preservation Chicago, all of whom have raised concerns about the project.
In addition, 200 faculty members from Obama's former employer, the University of Chicago, issued a formal letter last Monday stating its opposition to the presidential center being built at this location.
As a first step, the center's proposal must be approved by Chicago's planning department and the city council. That process is not expected to sit any snags, as Obama's former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is Chicago's mayor. "If past is prologue, municipal officials will rubber-stamp their approvals," Birnbaum said.
But the federal process will be more complicated, and that's where Birnbaum's argument becomes especially relevant.
The Obama Foundation will have to get approval from the Environmental Protection Agency under the National Environmental Policy Act and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. A spokesperson for Birnbaum's group said it is difficult to predict how the Trump administration's EPA will handle it.
The first verification process will determine if the Obama Presidential Center would have "adverse effects" on Jackson Park. The State Historic Preservation Office will ask "official consulting parties" to provide opinions.
--SNIP--
Obama is a hypocrite to build it on park land while there’s plenty of land in South Side of Chicago.
So they will have a sports center at a liberry. Are they going to have books too for the asian kids?
Trump should announce that his presidential library will be a digital, virtual library and announce how much it will save the taxpayers. Someone has to put an end to this.
‘Swallow?’....Reggie must have picked that Architect!
That is a really, really ugly building (the pod looking one). The low number of windows is weird.
It’s ugly no matter whose “library” it is, but it figures that the Obamas would enjoy leaving an eyesore for people to see.
This is a joke, right?
I don’t know what that white tower is, but isn’t that an enormous fly sitting on it?
Am I the first to get your joke? (the fly)
My brother has been active in fighting this and I am very proud of him.
If the architectural theme was “soviet cruise ship sinking in Linda Blair’s vomit” then they captured it perfectly.
Apparently there is rumor out that Barry may be headed for some money issues. No doubt the hand greasing is insufficient for this project to fly in Rat controlled Chicagoland.
Are those trees or broken wind turbines?
I think the theme may be “postmodern Egyptian pharoah’s last resting place ideally designed to be teleported by aliens back to the Home Planet.”
23 stories? For what? The banal platitudes? The non-existent articles from his stint as the editor in name only of Harvard law review? The decisions from his senate days? Letters of note? Correspondence with world leaders that don’t begin with “as you know?”
Instead of a Crucifix/Star of David or Crescent Moon, the Obama Temple will have a replica of his ears. Kinda like DisneyLand.
nice touch ;)
Haha, that fly and plaque are hilarious.
First thing I thought of when I saw the model.
It looks like a nuclear power plant.
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