Subcontractor for Obama Presidential Center files $40M lawsuit

It would appear that yet another controversy is taking place regarding the soon-to-open Obama Presidential Center.

A minority subcontractor is suing a developer on the project for $40 million, claiming racial discrimination and additional standards being put in place that would be typically set for such a project.

Obama Presidential Center Announced

It was just a few months after Obama left office that his library was announced.

The center plans were unveiled on May 3, 2017, with the Obama Organization announcing, “Today, at a community event hosted by President and Mrs. Obama, the Obama Foundation released the conceptual vision and site map for the Obama Presidential Center.

“More than a building or museum, the Obama Presidential Center will be a living, working center for engagement — an ongoing project for the community and world to shape what it means to be an active citizen in the 21st century.

“The Center will include a state of the art museum, classrooms, labs, and outdoor spaces, and it will conduct programs that will give visitors not just memories, but real tools to create change in their own communities. It will be based on the South Side of Chicago but, via partnerships, programs, and digital initiatives, have projects all over the city, the country, and the world.”

Plagued with Issues

After breaking ground in 2021, the project was initially scheduled to be completed and opened by October 2025, but it has faced several setbacks.

In March 2024, it was announced that the project had only been halfway completed, so the grand opening was pushed back again.

An Obama spokesperson stated, “The grand opening event for the center will take place in 2026 once the Chicago weather lifts and we are able to have a truly spectacular event for all who have supported the project and made the center possible.”

Typically, a presidential library is open within five years of the end of the presidential term, but Obama will now be pushing a full decade if the opening takes place as scheduled.

Lawsuit by Minority Business Owner

Robert McGee, the owner of II in One, recently announced a lawsuit against Thornton Tomasetti, who oversaw the structural engineering for the project. McGee’s suit claims that Tomasetti changed the requirements for the project to be over and above what the American Concreate Institute standards are.

The suit claims, "In a shocking and disheartening turn of events, the African American owner of a local construction company finds himself and his company on the brink of forced closure because of racial discrimination by the structural engineer. II in One and its joint venture partners… was subjected to baseless criticisms and defamatory and discriminatory accusations by the Obama Foundation’s structural engineer, Thornton Tomasetti.”

Tomasetti fired right back, "We cannot stand by while contractors attempt to blame their own shortcomings on the design team.” The memo continued that the firm had "bent over backwards to assist what everyone knows was a questionably qualified subcontractor team in areas where more qualified subcontractor would not have required it."

Obviously, this is not a good look for Obama, especially when you consider those living in the area has claimed the new center was going to drive housing rates in a minority neighborhood that could afford them. Additionally, green activists claimed the project was going to destroy too many trees and ruin local bird habitats. Of course, the media has kept these stories quiet, for the most part, because they don’t want to hurt the reputation of the golden child of the Democrat Party.