Obama's legacy in crisis: His Presidential Center in serious funding trouble
Several reports of construction problems, in addition to a drop in support from major donors, raise doubts about the future of the building that will honor Barack Obama's legacy.

Barack and Michelle Obama on the Obama Presidential Center grounds.
The Obama Presidential Center, a multipurpose building to commemorate the presidency of Barack Obama, is reportedly facing funding problems. This is according to several reports published over the last few hours, in addition to the rumors about another crisis: rumors that the former president and his wife, Michelle Obama, are on bad terms.
A lobrary, campus, museum, auditorium, fruit and vegetable orchards, the 19-acre complex will be erected on Chicago's South Side. It will also house the Obama Foundation. The project is expected to be completed by spring 2026. That is, if it manages to collect enough donations.
A recent report by The Daily Beast claims that major donors are showing reluctance to continue backing the project. Documents from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reviewed by the media outlet show a drop of more than 50% between 2022 and 2023. In 2024, it said, costs and delays multiplied, further worrying donors (the total collected for that year is still unknown).
"He didn’t help others when they were trying to fundraise and so they’re not going to look out for the Obamas now. There’s no quid pro quo because it’s a one-way street," reportedly claimed one of the donors who gave less money than they could have. There are also questions about the high compensation for the Obamas' close associates linked to the project, especially considering that it has not yet opened its doors.

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Adding to those concerns is a recent lawsuit by a contractor for the center. "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 of record (Thornton Tomasetti) for the construction of The Obama Presidential Center," reads an excerpt from the lawsuit reported by Newsweek.
The lawsuit was filed by Robert McGee Jr., owner of II in One, a supplier to the center. He is seeking more than $40 million in damages from construction consultant Thornton Tomasetti. The Chicago-based supplier accuses the latter of falsely accusing it of errors that cost "millions of dollars in losses," resorting to discriminatory arguments against minorities.
The Obama Foundation assured that it is not related to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit and funding obstacles are the most recent problems in a long list of setbacks for the center, which, as reported by the Daily Mail, originally had 2021 as the opening year. Four years later, it is still in the works.