Obama on his library: 'I hope it goes to Chicago'
President Barack Obama says he hopes his presidential library lands in Chicago,according to an editorial that appeared Tuesday on the Chicago Tribune website.
Obama made the statement during a brief conversation at the Gridiron Club dinner in Washington on Saturday. When the Tribune asked him where the library would go, the president answered, "I hope it goes to Chicago," the editorial said. But the president also added that there were "some entanglements," according to the editorial.
Obama did not explain which entanglements he was referring to. However, the City Council is expected to vote Wednesday on a controversial plan to transfer about 20 acres of public parkland on the South Side over to the city's control if the University of Chicago is awarded the library.
The U. of C., long considered the front-runner in the race to host the library, has proposed building it either in Washington Park, located in the Washington Park neighborhood, or Jackson Park in Woodlawn. The U. of C. also is offering 6 acres of land it owns in the Washington Park neighborhood.
Chicago is in a heated battle with New York to land the library. Columbia University has proposed building it in West Harlem. Other contenders are the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Hawaii in Honolulu.
The president and first lady are expected to announce the winning site after Chicago's April 7 runoff election.
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Obama on his library: 'I hope it goes to Chicago'