Former U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle close the Obama Foundation Summit together on the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology on October 29, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. The former president and first lady will be hosting a …
CHICAGO - Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama will be in Chicago this coming week to break ground on the Obama Presidential Center.
The ceremonies will be mostly virtual because of the COVID pandemic, though Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot will attend Tuesday's ceremony.
Construction on the 20 acre site in Jackson Park started in August.
The Obama Foundation says more than 50 percent of the construction contracts for the center in Jackson Park have gone to minority owned firms. Plus, the goal is to have 35 percent of workforce hours come from underserved communities, with many getting crucial training for construction careers.
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Construction on Obama Presidential Center begins in Chicago after delays
Five years after Barack Obama chose Chicago as the site for his legacy project, construction officially began Monday on the Obama Presidential Center.