The Obama Foundation secured 19.3 acres of Jackson Park — Chicago’s equivalent of Central Park — under a 99-year lease for ten dollars.

Ten dollars. For nearly twenty acres of prime urban parkland. For almost a century.

The deal was approved because the Obama Presidential Center was supposed to function as a “civic institution serving the public interest.”

Now job postings require applicants to align with the foundation’s “anti-racism” goals. The hiring page features images of people marching with raised fists. And Illinois Republicans are asking: how exactly is this a public institution?

$10 for 99 Years of Prime Parkland

Let’s start with what Chicago gave away.

Jackson Park is historic public land — the site of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. It’s one of the last major green spaces on Chicago’s South Side.

City officials handed nearly twenty acres to the Obama Foundation for a decade’s worth of pocket change. The justification: the center would serve the public, like a museum or library.

Opponents sued, arguing the transfer violated the “public trust doctrine” — the legal principle that public land must serve public purposes. Courts let the project proceed without actually ruling on whether it meets that standard.

Now we’re seeing what “public purpose” means to the Obama Foundation.

“Actively Anti-Racist” Required

The foundation’s job postings don’t just ask for qualified candidates. They demand ideological commitment.

“The Obama Foundation is deeply committed to creating an actively anti-racist organization, leveraging our global reach to combat systemic racism and inequity wherever it exists.”

Successful applicants are “expected to align” with these goals.

This isn’t equal opportunity employment. It’s ideological screening. Applicants who don’t subscribe to a specific political framework need not apply.

What “Anti-Racism” Actually Means

“Anti-racism” sounds benign — who’s pro-racism?

But the term has a specific meaning in progressive ideology, popularized by author Ibram X. Kendi. It doesn’t mean treating people equally regardless of race. It means actively fighting any “perception” of racism, prioritizing outcomes over opportunity, and assigning collective guilt based on skin color.

Critics argue anti-racism is itself racist — judging people by race rather than character, and demanding whites accept responsibility for historical injustices they didn’t commit.

The Obama Foundation has embedded this ideology into its hiring practices, leadership programs, and organizational structure. Their statement explicitly mentions “removing barriers for diverse vendors” and “building anti-racism and equity into our hiring practices.”

That’s not a civic institution. That’s a progressive advocacy organization.

Costs Ballooned from $330 Million to $850 Million

The center’s price tag tells its own story.

Original estimate: $330 million.

Current cost: at least $850 million.

That’s a 157% increase. More than half a billion dollars in overruns.

The project has also relied on publicly funded infrastructure work surrounding the site. Taxpayers aren’t just giving away the land — they’re subsidizing the construction.

The Endowment That Doesn’t Exist

The Obama Foundation committed to creating a $470 million endowment to cover long-term operating costs.

Latest tax filings show how much has been deposited: $1 million.

One million out of four hundred seventy million. That’s 0.2% of the promised amount.

The endowment was supposed to protect taxpayers from future bailout requests. Without it, what happens when the center runs operating deficits? Does Chicago pick up the tab for a “civic institution” that requires ideological loyalty oaths?

The $40 Million Discrimination Lawsuit

The foundation’s DEI commitments have already produced legal headaches.

A Black-owned construction subcontractor filed a $40 million discrimination lawsuit alleging racially discriminatory treatment by an engineering firm involved in the project.

The engineering firm’s defense? Diversity-driven contracting decisions resulted in less qualified subcontractors being selected, contributing to “inferior workmanship, delays and cost overruns.”

In other words: the foundation’s commitment to equity over merit may have caused some of the project’s problems. Now everyone is suing everyone, using race-based claims as weapons.

This is what DEI produces. Not harmony — litigation.

Not Actually a Presidential Library

Here’s a detail many people miss.

The Obama Presidential Center isn’t operated by the National Archives. It’s not a traditional presidential library. It won’t house original presidential records the way NARA-run facilities do.

It’s run entirely by the Obama Foundation — Barack Obama’s private nonprofit organization. The “library” is actually a 225-foot museum, conference facilities, a gymnasium, and a regulation NBA court.

The foundation operates leadership programs “reflecting the values and priorities of former President Barack Obama.”

Those values apparently include mandatory anti-racism commitments and raised-fist imagery on job postings.

Illinois GOP Calls It “Divisive”

Illinois Republican Party Chair Kathy Salvi didn’t hold back.

“It’s an Illinois Democrat tradition to insert divisive, far-left policies into the lives of everyday Americans and to balk at the rule of law. The Obama Center is no different.”

She noted the center “is a recipient of taxpayer funds built on public lands and flouts ‘anti-racism’ hiring goals.”

“Such employment practices sound discriminatory and unmoored from any assessment of merit.”

Salvi connected the issue to the Trump administration’s broader crackdown on DEI: “As the Trump Administration investigates such employment practices at-large, we will continue to demand accountability and fairness from civic and educational sites like the Obama Center claims to be.”

The Foundation’s Response

The Obama Foundation defended its approach.

“Our values remain the same as the day we began; we will continue to actively work to combat racism as we strive to build a more perfect union.”

Translation: we’re not changing anything, and we don’t care what you think.

They got their $10 lease. They got their public land. They got their taxpayer-subsidized infrastructure. Now they’re building an ideological headquarters and daring anyone to stop them.

Public Land, Private Ideology

The fundamental question is simple: should public resources subsidize political advocacy?

If the Obama Foundation wants to require anti-racism commitments and raised-fist imagery, that’s their right as a private organization.

But private organizations don’t get 99-year leases on public parkland for ten dollars. They don’t get taxpayer-funded infrastructure. They don’t claim to serve “civic purposes” while screening employees for ideological conformity.

The Obama Presidential Center wants it both ways — public benefits with private control, civic justification with political mission.

Chicago gave them the land. The courts let them build. Now they’re showing exactly what they plan to do with it.

And there’s nothing anyone can do about it for the next 97 years.