The center is expected to debut in 2025 and cost about $700 million to construct, with another $90 million to prepare exhibits and cover the center’s opening, plus $40 million for the first year’s operations.
Financial disclosures show the Obama Foundation paid the law firm Sidley Austin $6.2 million between 2018 and 2021. The vast majority related to the ongoing litigation with POP, a foundation official said.Michael Rachlis, another attorney for Protect Our Parks, says the latest ruling allows the group to appeal the three major pieces of their arguments in a new venue, though on a more limited basis.
In court filings, POP argued federal reviews that allowed construction to go forward on protected parklands were improperly split and deficient, and failed to identify possible alternatives to Jackson Park.Protect Our Parks also argued the city “delegated all material decision-making authority to the Obama Foundation,” essentially rubber-stamping an agreement that turned over parkland to a private entity for 99 years at a cost of just $10.
Obama Foundation and city officials have argued construction would restore roadways to parkland, improve pedestrian and bicyclist access to the park and lakefront, introduce better biodiversity to the park, bring new amenities such as recreational facilities and a new Chicago Public Library branch to nearby residents and add needed economic development to the South Side.
Rachlis said construction “is far from complete,” and the center’s opening is not a fait accompli. There is “much that can be gained and protected in the short term in Jackson Park,” including “several hundred” trees that haven’t been cut down, and roadwork that hasn’t yet begun. “The integrity of the park itself has not been changed,” and even if more changes take place, “there are remedies that can be put in place.
Source: Law Daily Report (lawdailyreport.net)
Nice try. At least you stopped that horrid Spielberg monstrosity.
W
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