NEW ILLINOIS BUDGET INCLUDES $224 MILLION FOR OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER
Posted by Bluangel on April 21, 2020, 9:49 pm
Projects relevant to the forthcoming Obama Presidential Center in Chicago’s Jackson Park will cost taxpayers $224 million, according to the Washington Examiner.
This includes $174 million for roadwork in and around Jackson Park and $50 million for renovations to the Garfield Green Line station, two miles from the presidential center. Illinois taxpayers will be on the hook for $199 million of the total cost, with $25 million of the Garfield station renovations funded through a federal grant, according to the Washington Examiner.
Unfortunately, Illinois taxpayers would have no way of knowing this money was flowing to the presidential project from looking at the state’s 1,245-page budget, which makes no mention of the Obama Presidential Center. That spending is hidden, but has been confirmed by political figures such as Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Illinois’ state budget might not be the only source of taxpayer money for the center. Chicago residents may face a property tax add-on, as the General Assembly amended the state’s Museum Act in 2016 to permit such a tax to help finance the center. Alterations to the Museum Act also allowed lawmakers to grant the parkland transfer to the Obama Foundation. That transfer is the subject of a federal lawsuit filed by the nonprofit Protect Our Parks. Protect Our Parks claims the city and the Chicago Park District broke state law through their transfer of the parkland, and also argues using tax money for the center’s construction is compelled political speech and a violation of the First Amendment.
Hidden money for the Obama Presidential Center is a consequence of the state spending plan’s opaqueness. The negotiating process in drafting of the budget took place outside of public view and state senators were given five hours to read the massive document before taking a vote. By the Illinois Policy Institute’s estimate, the spending plan exceeds realistic revenue estimates by as much as $1.5 billion.
Given the secretive manner in which the spending plan came to be, hidden money should not come as a surprise. Bad budgeting basics in Illinois have plagued taxpayers for too long. If the state wants to set itself on a better path forward, lawmakers must provide truly balanced budgets and embrace transparency in the budget making process.
This may be one point where I agree. Why should tax payers pay all that for an Obama presidential center? He was the best president of the millennium thusfar, but still... not on my dime.
And yet, I also believe that the Trump Executive Occupancy center will be much cheaper to build than Obama's. Matter of fact, it only needs to have one display.
When you ban books before you ban guns, you've admitted that you're more afraid of children learning than you are of children dying.
Re: NEW ILLINOIS BUDGET INCLUDES $224 MILLION FOR OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER
Good catch on this one Blue. It's a shame that our leaders in the Capital are so proud of this guy that they sneak the money in under the table.
Perhaps Dee is right about the "tweet" symbol" for the Trump Presidential Center. However, using that rationale, the Obama symbol should be a piece of toast soaked in milk. Maybe Trump will go down as the worst President in history. Obama will go down with Carter as the two most limp d*** commanders in chief. Both afraid of their own shadow.
Boy/Girl/Man/Woman
The only pro-nouns that mean anything.
Re: NEW ILLINOIS BUDGET INCLUDES $224 MILLION FOR OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER