CHICAGO — Foundation officials are condemning a “shameless act of cowardice and hate” at the site of former President Barack Obama’s presidential center in Chicago's Jackson Park neighborhood on Thursday morning.
Officials say a noose was discovered at the project site and construction has been halted.
”We reported the incident to the police and will provide any assistance required to identify those responsible,” Lakeside Alliance, the construction team building the center, said in an emailed release.
”We have zero tolerance for any form of bias or hate on our worksite. Anti-bias training is included in our onboarding process and reiterated during sitewide meetings. We are suspending all operations on-site in order to provide another series of these trainings and conversations for all staff and workers,” the statement said.
They are offering a $100,000 reward to help find whoever was responsible.
“Our priority is protecting the health and safety of our workforce. We have notified authorities who are investigating the incident.”
Foundation officials have said the museum will pay tribute to Obama’s legacy as the first Black president and has endeavored to economically uplift the neighboring majority-Black South Side.
Lakeside Alliance is a joint venture of African American-owned construction firms. City work to prepare for construction began in spring 2021, with the Obamas returning to Chicago for an official groundbreaking that September.
As the sun was starting to set on the worksite, a Chicago police officer pulled up outside one of the five entrances to the Obama Center construction zone off South Stony Island Avenue, waited for a few minutes to be let inside then met with a couple of workers on-site.
One of the workers handed the officer a white bag with what appeared to be rope inside. The officer came back outside of the center perimeter, put the bag in his squad car and drove off.
Rico Pineda, 29, is leading the team of workers posted outside the Obama Center perimeter for about two months now to install a water line, he said.
Pineda heard about the situation from other workers.
“The first thing I thought was man, that’s messed up,” Pineda said. “There’s still racism going around, even with a union job. This job is guaranteed to the workers inside until 2025. Why risk that?”
The workers inside were all told to go home, but no one seemed to have a clear idea as to how long they would be off-site.
“They don’t want the locals who they’ve hired to work to fear their life is in danger,” Pineda said. “They said everything is shut down until they actually find out what happened. It could take a week, a month, however long it takes to make people feel safe.”
Pineda wondered who could have done such a thing and added that the five entrance points are heavily secured, and there also are security cameras along the perimeter.
Sisters Rosemary Jackson, 81, Patricia Catlett, 66, and April Branklyn, 59, have lived in the neighborhood for decades. Jackson and Catlett said they have lived at Jackson Park Terrace on South Stony Island Avenue, for over 40 years, right across from the Obama Center worksite.
Jackson and Catlett said they heard about what happened from their sister, Branklyn. They said they were “shocked” because from their time in the area, they haven’t had any problems.
Trees have been cleared and concrete poured for the museum building and the complex’s parking garage.
When complete, the campus will include the towering museum building, a forum and a Chicago Public Library branch, as well as green space connecting the site to the rest of Jackson Park.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker condemned the incident in a series of tweets Thursday. “Hate has no place in Illinois. The noose is more than a symbol of racism, it is a heart-stopping reminder of the violence and terror inflicted on Black Americans for centuries.”
”I condemn this act of hate in the strongest possible terms, and the state of Illinois will make all needed resources available to help catch the perpetrators,” Pritzker tweeted.
The governor has been outspoken on issues involving discrimination and hate, relaunching the Illinois Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes and similarly denouncing the targeting of the UpRising Bakery, state Sen. Darren Bailey’s comments comparing lives lost due to abortion to the Holocaust and racially motivated attacks against Asian Americans.
Catlett said before she retired, she worked for nearly 40 years at the local post office and would get off of work at 11:30 p.m. and walk home from the bus stop nearby, and she never felt unsafe.
“I believe it was somebody trying to play a joke, but there’s no major concern for people to be alarmed by” Catlett said. “It’s not funny at all. We’re all here to love and help and work with each other.”
———
