Chicago Reporter (https://www.chicagoreporter.com/tag/obama-library/)
Objections and proposed changes to the major South Side developments are an opportunity for Mayor Lori Lightfoot to demonstrate her promises of openness and accountability.
Protect Our Parks, which had sued to stop construction of the presidential center in Jackson Park, has said it will appeal the ruling.
Candidates for the South Side ward agree on community needs, but will the next alderman stick around long enough to see them through? History says no.
A federal judge ruled that Protect Our Parks’ lawsuit against the use of Jackson Park for the center should not be tossed, as the city requested.
The conversation on affordable housing in Chicago is changing, especially among mayoral candidates, but the realtors lobby still holds great sway.
Organizers aim to avert gentrification brought on by the Obama library through an ordinance that would require the city and the University of Chicago to protect and support nearby residents.
Given Woodlawn’s history, neighborhood organizers want to ensure the presidential center will benefit black residents, not displace them.
Despite Barack Obama’s verbal assurances that his presidential center will benefit the surrounding community, many residents want a written guarantee that black families won’t be pushed out.
As plans for the Obama library advance, South Side communities can learn from groups around the country who have held developers accountable to their needs.
Black communities are often stereotyped as consumer wastelands. But immigrants and first-time entrepreneurs have tapped the unmet needs in the neighborhoods.