The long-waged fight by the group Protect Our Parks to halt construction of former President Barack Obama’s Jackson Park museum and campus has reached the end of the road in the federal district courts. But the plaintiffs plan to take the case to the appellate level, continuing a yearslong battle against a project that is already progressing.
On Thursday, November 3, 2022 U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey entered a final judgment in favor of the defendants — including the Obama Foundation, several federal agencies and the city of Chicago — in the Northern District of Illinois.
The center is expected to debut in 2025 and cost about JS$700 million to construct, with another $90 million to prepare exhibits and cover the center’s opening, plus US$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.
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