![\"Obama\"](\"https:\/\/www.eldigitaldeasturias.com\/noticias\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/obama-360x239.jpg\")
Chicago (tca\/dpa) – As Chicago prepares for this year\u2019s slated groundbreaking of the Obama Presidential Center, the former president it\u2019s named after on Friday touted the upcoming campus as a bridge toward healing a city hit with trying times since he first announced the complex\u2019s planned location in Jackson Park.<\/p>\n
Former President Barack Obama gave his pitch during a virtual discussion with the Economic Club of Chicago that involved a wide-ranging discussion of his future presidential center as well as the state of the nation after the chaotic January departure of his White House successor.<\/p>\n
He also said more so than other cities, his hometown in the Midwest has weathered acute economic inequality that can be linked to segregation. While stressing that Chicago both remains a world-class city and has neighborhoods that feel left behind, Obama said his presidential center will bridge those gaps and uplift the South Side to be \u201con par\u201d with the more-resourced downtown and North Side.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can we make this (presidential center) into something that helps bring Chicago together at a time when Chicago, like much of the country, sometimes feels divided?\u201d Obama said.<\/p>\n
In his remarks, Obama set out to distinguish the center from traditional presidential libraries. The planned site, which in 2017 already was breaking from the usual model by opting out of the presidential library network, will be an engine for the community outreach that the former president credits with the launch of his political career, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTraditionally, presidential libraries, I think, can be a little backward looking in the sense of they\u2019re a celebration of a presidency or a president; sometimes maybe kind of a mausoleum in the sense of not much is happening,\u201d Obama said. \u201cOur thought was, well, let\u2019s create an institution that is alive and vibrant and is bringing people together.\u201d<\/p>\n
After discussing his presidential center, Obama again weighed in on the Jan. 6 US Capitol riots, which he characterized as an \u201cinsurrection\u201d that has cast a troubling future for the Republican Party.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had one of the major American political parties not only fail to condemn some of that behavior but embrace a patently false narrative about the election being stolen that is being still perpetuated,\u201d Obama said.<\/p>\n
The former president went on to blast the GOP for enacting restrictive voter laws in states such as Georgia and said corporations have a responsibility to push back. He said the traditional media ecosystem has given way to a social media rumor mill \u2014 which he added was perpetuated by former Republican President Donald Trump \u2014 that has gotten \u201ca third to half of the country believing in stuff that is completely made up.\u201d<\/p>\n
And he said he lamented the rise of populism on the right that has led to immigrants and other marginalized identities being scapegoated from the fallout of the 2008 recession.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was part of the center left, so I\u2019m including myself in this,\u201d Obama said. \u201cWe have to acknowledge that we did not effectively enough address very real concerns about economic inequality fast enough. We have to go, I think, more quickly to give people some sense that if they work hard, they are able to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Obama first selected Jackson Park, the South Side green land sandwiched between Lake Michigan and Woodlawn, as the destination of his future presidential center in 2016, predicting it would open in 2021. His choice was heralded by supporters who hoped the project would help revitalize neighboring communities and become a source of pride for South Side locals and visitors alike. But other neighbors worried about housing displacement or the loss of public parkland that would come with its arrival.<\/p>\n
The campus will include a museum in honor of the nation\u2019s first Black president and first lady, Obama Foundation offices, a public library branch, an athletic center and an outdoor recreation space. About 750,000 visitors are expected annually. Initially, the bricks-and-mortar cost was slated to be 500 million dollars, but Obama Foundation President Valerie Jarrett on Friday said it would be nearly 700 million dollars.<\/p>\n
After a recently completed federal review into the location of the Obama Presidential Center on public parkland had delayed groundbreaking for years, foundation officials set a new date for shovels to hit the ground this fall. There also was a 2018 lawsuit from the nonprofit Protect Our Parks, alleging that officials did not have the authority to transfer public parkland to a private nongovernmental entity, that was tossed out last August. Though the group filed a second lawsuit in April, Jarrett said Friday that \u201cwe are very confident we\u2019re on solid legal footing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jarrett also announced the foundation has raised almost 900 million dollars. Chicago community organizations have donated 266 million dollars, though the foundation\u2019s goal is 400 million dollars. The foundation plans to use the funds for the campus construction, future programming and an endowment.<\/p>\n
By Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Chicago (tca\/dpa) – As Chicago prepares for this year\u2019s slated groundbreaking of the Obama Presidential Center, the former president it\u2019s named after on Friday touted the upcoming campus as a bridge toward healing a city hit with trying times since he first announced the complex\u2019s planned location in Jackson Park. Former President Barack Obama gave […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1093218,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1093217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-actualidad"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t