Groundbreaking for Obama presidential center set for Tuesday

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Barack Obama’s presidential center will move another step closer to its brick-and-mortar future next week when ground is broken after years of reviews, other delays and local opposition. Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama will be joined by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot at a ceremony Tuesday in Chicago. Obama chose a site in a lakefront park on the South Side of Chicago in 2016 for his presidential center. But the $500 million project hit numerous snags due to a legal battle with park preservationists and protests from neighborhood activists concerned that Black residents would be displaced.