Obamas to break ground Tuesday on presidential center in Chicago

Former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama are expected to break ground on the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Tuesday.

The ceremony will be mostly virtual with limited in-person attendees as a result of the continued COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Chicago Sun-Times.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) are scheduled to attend the ceremony, the Sun-Times reported. 

“This project has reminded us why the South Side and the people who live here are so special,” Michelle Obama said in a video statement announcing the groundbreaking. “And it’s reaffirmed what Barack and I always believed, that the future here is as bright as it is anywhere.”

Obama selected Chicago’s Jackson Park as the intended site of his center in 2016, though some people continue to push for the location to be changed to Washington Park.

Those opposed to the construction say it could cause “irreparable harm” in the park by destroying roads, trees and negatively impacting traffic flow, according to Politico.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals plans to hear the case regarding halting construction on Nov. 30 as other tangential litigation is also pending in the U.S. Supreme Court, but construction is still set to go on as planned, the Sun-Times said.