The Obama Presidential Center is estimated to cost nearly $850 million, more than three times the original estimate. But that has not stopped Obama's loyalists from cashing massive paychecks for their roles in creating this monstrosity.
When the presidential center was first announced, it was estimated to cost around $300 million.
Now it is behind schedule, over budget, and it seems more like a payday for Obama loyalists than anything else.
Obama always pitched this project as something for the people of his hometown of Chicago, but it was really more about his hubris than anything else.
The original estimates were around $300 to $330 million, but his foundation has already spent more than $615 million, and the center is still not completed.
When all is said and done, the foundation is expected to have spent about $850 million on the project.
This has given the GOP plenty of ammo to take down Obama, with Illinois GOP Chair Kathy Salvi stating, "It should come as no surprise that the Obama Center is potentially leaving Illinois taxpayers high and dry — it’s an Illinois Democrat tradition. Democrats in this state, when not going to prison for corruption, treat taxpayers like a personal piggy bank giving sweetheart deals to their political benefactors,” according to Fox News.
Donald Trump took the opportunity to blast the center while visiting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House.
NBC Chicago reported, “It’s a disaster. (Obama) said something to the effect of I only want DEI. I only want woke. He wants woke people to build it. Well, he got woke people.... He’s got a library that’s a disaster.”
The Obama Foundation rejected Trump’s premise, including previous comments by Trump that the work had been stopped (there was a reported conflict with one of the contractors). It stated, “Everyone who sees the Obama Presidential Center is blown away by its beauty, scale and the way it will be an economic engine for Chicago and a beacon of hope for the world.
“We look forward to welcoming all visitors to the 19.3-acre campus next spring, to experience a presidential center that not only honors the Obamas’ legacy but also lifts up the next generation of leaders.”
The Democrat Party has always promoted Obama as the man who is above it all, and he has embraced that narrative, but he is nothing more than another corrupt politician who used the office to funnel money to his friends and family.
As an example, former Obama official Valerie Jarrett raked in a $740,000 salary in 2024 as the CEO of the Obama Foundation. Salvi again commented, "Illinois Democrats are truly living their best lives — making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to help design the ugliest building in Chicago.
"Their jaw-dropping salaries prove that Illinois’ culture of corruption is alive and well as Barack Obama’s top allies rake in the cash."
Adewale Adeyemo, Anne Filipic, Christina Tchen, David Simas, and Michael Strautmanis, just to name a few, are all pulling down six-figure salaries working for the Obama Foundation. It’s not a foundation… It’s a funnel to keep his former staffers on the money train.
