A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit that sought to prevent the construction of the Obama Presidential Center in lakeside Jackson Park — dealing a blow to environmentalists who sought to stop the project.
US District Judge John Robert Blakey said there should be “no delay in construction” of the Obama Foundation’s $500 million state-of-the-art center set to open in 2021.
“The facts are clear in this case and the law is more settled than the parties are suggesting,” Blakey said from the bench, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The organization Protect Our Parks argued the city illegally transferred land for a park to The Obama Foundation, a private entity overseeing construction of the center.
City lawyers accused the group of exaggerating potential environmental problems, misreading the law and misrepresenting how the approval works.
The foundation still has to finish a federal review process before it can break ground on the development, the Tribune said.
An attorney for the parks organization said it plans to appeal.
With Post wires