• Breaking News
  • U.S. News
  • Contact
  • View Print Edition
    • CL Digital
  • Subscribe
Friday, August 19, 2022
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
Advertise with us
The Chicago Leader
Donate Now
  • Home
    • Subscribe to the print newspaper
    • Scavenger Hunt Contest
    • Download Media Kit PDF
    • Ad submission
    • Sponsors
  • World
    Cancer

    Scientists Make Breakthrough That Could Eliminate Cancer Cells

    Monkeys

    Monkeys Attack Children and Elderly in Yamaguchi

    Polar bear

    Polar Bear Subpopulation Found in Southeast Greenland

    Trending Tags

    • Breaking News
    • Health
    • Coronavirus
    • coronavirus pandemic
  • U.S. News
    • All
    • Black History
    • Chicago
    • Illinois
    Public Transportation

    Why Is Public Transportation Unsafe?

    988

    New 988 Hotline Launches in Illinois

    Illinois

    Illinois Residents Will Soon See Checks in the Mail

    Trending Tags

    • U.S.
    • U.S. Census
    • Politics
  • Business
    • All
    • Jobs
    Equifax

    Equifax Causes Woman to Make Two Car Payments Due to Credit Error

    Joe Biden’s Economy is Booming and the Right Wing Is Speechless

    Joe Biden’s Economy is Booming and the Right Wing Is Speechless

    Save A Lot

    Save A Lot Granted $13.5M for Stores in Chicago

    Trending Tags

    • Wall Street
    • Trump
    • Bankruptcy
    • Federal Reserve Bank
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Arts
    • Book Review
    • Chicago Film Office
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Review
    streaming

    Streaming Platforms Leave Broadcast and Cable TV in the Dust

    Chicago

    Classic Chicago Film Locations

    Rowling

    Threat Made Against J.K. Rowling After Salman Rushdie Was Attacked

    Trending Tags

    • Movies
    • marvel movies
    • Dancing
  • Sports
  • Science
    • All
    • CBD
    • Climate
    • Marijuana
    carbon

    Carbon Emissions Alter Earth’s Ability to Heal Itself

    pig

    Scientists Restore Pig Organs After Their Heart Stop

    face mask

    New Face Mask Material Can Deactivate COVID-19 Particles

    Trending Tags

    • UFO
    • Coronavirus
    • Novel coronavirus
    • coronavirus pandemic
    • NASA
    • scientists
  • Health
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Faith
    • food
    • homeopathy
    • mental health
    • prostate
    greyhound

    Greyhound Tests Positive for Monkeypox in France

    Vitamin

    Vitamin B12 Could Help People With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

    Virus

    Scientists Identify 35 Cases of New Spillover Virus in China

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
  • English
  • Spanish
  • Home
    • Subscribe to the print newspaper
    • Scavenger Hunt Contest
    • Download Media Kit PDF
    • Ad submission
    • Sponsors
  • World
    Cancer

    Scientists Make Breakthrough That Could Eliminate Cancer Cells

    Monkeys

    Monkeys Attack Children and Elderly in Yamaguchi

    Polar bear

    Polar Bear Subpopulation Found in Southeast Greenland

    Trending Tags

    • Breaking News
    • Health
    • Coronavirus
    • coronavirus pandemic
  • U.S. News
    • All
    • Black History
    • Chicago
    • Illinois
    Public Transportation

    Why Is Public Transportation Unsafe?

    988

    New 988 Hotline Launches in Illinois

    Illinois

    Illinois Residents Will Soon See Checks in the Mail

    Trending Tags

    • U.S.
    • U.S. Census
    • Politics
  • Business
    • All
    • Jobs
    Equifax

    Equifax Causes Woman to Make Two Car Payments Due to Credit Error

    Joe Biden’s Economy is Booming and the Right Wing Is Speechless

    Joe Biden’s Economy is Booming and the Right Wing Is Speechless

    Save A Lot

    Save A Lot Granted $13.5M for Stores in Chicago

    Trending Tags

    • Wall Street
    • Trump
    • Bankruptcy
    • Federal Reserve Bank
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Arts
    • Book Review
    • Chicago Film Office
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Review
    streaming

    Streaming Platforms Leave Broadcast and Cable TV in the Dust

    Chicago

    Classic Chicago Film Locations

    Rowling

    Threat Made Against J.K. Rowling After Salman Rushdie Was Attacked

    Trending Tags

    • Movies
    • marvel movies
    • Dancing
  • Sports
  • Science
    • All
    • CBD
    • Climate
    • Marijuana
    carbon

    Carbon Emissions Alter Earth’s Ability to Heal Itself

    pig

    Scientists Restore Pig Organs After Their Heart Stop

    face mask

    New Face Mask Material Can Deactivate COVID-19 Particles

    Trending Tags

    • UFO
    • Coronavirus
    • Novel coronavirus
    • coronavirus pandemic
    • NASA
    • scientists
  • Health
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Faith
    • food
    • homeopathy
    • mental health
    • prostate
    greyhound

    Greyhound Tests Positive for Monkeypox in France

    Vitamin

    Vitamin B12 Could Help People With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

    Virus

    Scientists Identify 35 Cases of New Spillover Virus in China

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
  • English
  • Spanish
No Result
View All Result
Chicago Leader
No Result
View All Result

Barack Obama Presidential Center’s Impact Concerns South-Side Residents

by Chiagozie Onyewuchi
December 7, 2021
in Breaking News, Chicago, Featured, U.S. News
0
obama

Courtesy of Adam Courtemanche (Flickr CC0)

0
SHARES
7
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Don't like to read?

The Obama Foundation broke ground on its new project in September 2021. However, some Chicago residents fear that it will negatively impact the community.

The Barack Obama Presidential Center will be located in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side. It will include a library and a museum, among other things. The project has gathered enough support to fund a portion of its $1.6 billion fundraising goal. In November, Jeff Bezos donated $100 million to honor the late Congressman John Lewis. There is to be a plaza named after Lewis at the request of Bezos.

Obama
Courtesy of Matt B (Flickr CC0)

The project is expected to bring high value to the area, which worries people. Rents and housing prices in the surrounding neighborhoods have rapidly increased since the center was announced in 2015.

Many residents face the impending doom of being displaced by the neighboring center. In addition, the prices will continue to rise as the project nears completion and possibly even more so when attractions at the center are announced.

Experts say the center will potentially do more damage than good. It will displace the very people it is trying to serve.

Unintended Consequences

DePaul University professor Winifred Curran described the situation as an exercise in gentrification. “The Obama center is kind of like a signal to developers to get real estate now for cheap, and then the profit potential is huge.” As a result, many are calling for protections for affordable housing, so long-term residents do not lose their homes. Residents have been engaged in a six-year-long fight to address their concerns over the project.

The Obama Community Benefits Agreement Coalition was formed to help fight displacement. Residents are looking for assistance so they can see the project become a reality in their neighborhood, according to a member of the group, Dixon Romeo. They are not opposed to the idea, but they do not want to be displaced. Romeo explains why:

This is the community that sent President Obama to Springfield. This is the community that sent him to the Senate. This is the community that sent him to the White House, and we should be the community that gets to stay for the presidential center.

Written by Chiagozie Onyewuchi
Edited by Cathy Milne-Ware

Sources:

Obama Foundation: Jeff Bezos donates $100M to the Obama Foundation in honor of Congressman John Lewis
NBC News: ‘Can’t stay anymore’: Residents near new Obama Center fear being pushed out by gentrification; by Safia Samee Ali

Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Adam Courtemanche’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Matt B’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License

Tags: Barack Obama Presidential CenterCL PrintgentrificationObamaobama foundation
Chiagozie Onyewuchi

Chiagozie Onyewuchi

Next Post
president

What Is the Function of the United States President?

Recent Posts

  • Streaming Platforms Leave Broadcast and Cable TV in the Dust
  • Why Is Public Transportation Unsafe?
  • New 988 Hotline Launches in Illinois

Newsletter

Loading
No Result
View All Result
  • About
  • Ad submission
  • Contact
  • Team
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • FAQ
  • Mission

© 2018 TNS - TNS theme by Frackle TNSthemes.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Politics
  • World
  • Business
  • Science
  • Entertainment
  • Gaming
  • Movie
  • Music
  • Sports
  • Health and Lifestyle
  • View Print Edition
  • Subscribe to the print newspaper
  • Contact

© 2018 TNS - TNS theme by Frackle TNSthemes.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Support independent local journalism by subscribing to the Chicago Leader print
and digital publication for just $15 a year.

Subscribe Now