More problems are added to Barack Obama's plate in the midst of reports of marital problems – and a possible divorce – with Michelle.
The last song is about his Obama Presidential Center. One of the most important companies that build the first black president of the nation is accused of racial discrimination by one of the black subcontractors of the project.
It has been a difficult year for Obama, who was alone at Jimmy Carter's state funeral and at the second inauguration of Donald Trump after wife Michelle broke with tradition and refused to be present.
Her absence revived rumors that the first first pair has or will separate, rumors that they are trying to combat with a united front.
But now the Obama Presidential Center, its long -planned library and community center in Chicago, could get even more delays about the federal court case.
The center has been a struggle for Obama from the start. His library was confronted with a lawsuit over the proposed location, balloon sailing and building issues, which means that Obama will set a record for the time that has passed between the end of a presidency and the opening of a name museum.
Barack and Michelle Obama have had to deal with rumors about a divorce – above the couple at the Democratic National Convention in August 2024
Robert McGee, the owner of the South Side-based firm II in one offered concrete and reinforcement services for the center.
McGee has sued Thornton Tomasetti in New York this month in the federal court and asked to be repaid for around $ 40 million in construction costs.
He claims that Thornton Tomasetti has repeatedly changed the standards of the project and has subjected his company to 'excessive rigorous and unnecessary inspection' and extensive paperwork that influenced 'productivity and resulted in millions of losses', according to the court case.
And he accused them of 'racial discrimination'.
'In a shocking and discouraging turn of events, the Afro -American owner of a local construction company is and his company on the edge of forced closure due to racial discrimination by the structural engineer of Record (Thornton Tomasetti) for the construction of the Obama Presidential Center , “says the lawsuit.
McGee 'had never thought that the structural engineer of the Obama Foundation would have a subcontractor in his hands for unfair criticism and wrongly accuses the missing of sufficient qualifications and experience to perform his work, while, in the same letter, stating it states Contractors of minorities were sufficiently qualified, “the court case noted.
In the meantime, Thornton Tomasetti denied the allegations and shared a memo that the construction costs and delays were all unambiguously powered by the underperformance and inexperience 'of the black subcontractor.
In the Memo of February 2024 affiliated with the court case, Thornton Tomasetti shared images of cracked plate and exposed reinforcement steel, and told Obama Foundation Leadership that the concrete collective – that the company of McGee was part of – hundreds of requests for its work in the field to correct.
The company said that 'hundreds of hours spent assessing, analyzing, re -designing and responding to corrective activities', and that contractors 'caused a multitude of problems in the field'.
McGee hit back in the court case and said that Thornton Tomasetti's criticism said the case, “unfair” and falsely accused II in one of “Without sufficient qualifications,” “”
Spokeswoman Emily Bittner, Obama Foundation, said to the Chicago Tribune: “If the foundation believed that a supplier acted with a racist intention, we would immediately take appropriate action. We have no reason to believe that Thornton Tomasetti acted with racist intention. '
Obama promised to hire local employees, contractors and companies owned by minorities, women, veterans, LGBTQ individuals and people with disabilities to build his five-hectare compound, which he suggested as a leadership training institute and a community center, together with A monument for his presidency.
Thornton Tomasetti has been involved in various high-profile public projects, including Hudson Yards in Manhattan, Caesar's Superdome from New Orleans, Las Vegas's T-Mobile Arena, the Navy Power of Chicago and the visitor facility at the Washington Monument.
The company was hired by the Barack Obama Foundation to serve as a structural engineer in the construction of the former president of the president.
II in One has worked on projects such as Millennium Park, the residential commons on the northern campus of the University of Chicago and Kennedy King College.
Obama Presidential Center is reflected in the West -Lagune in Jackson Park in September 2024
Conceptual model of the Obama Presidential Center
The presidential center of Obama has confronted many delays.
It stood for legal challenges for his plans to build in Jackson Park, a historic public park.
Obama insisted to have his center – which will be more than a traditional presidential library – built in the historic area and finally won approval.
The land was broken in September 2021.
Subsequently, the construction of the library was stopped for a few days in 2022 after a sling was found on site.
The center is being built on the south side of Chicago in the vicinity of Chicago, where Barack Obama taught a ground -statue right, and just north of the neighborhood where Michelle Obama grew up.
The campus of around $ 700 million is expected to include a museum, Obama Foundation offices, a public library and recreational space.
With the delays, the budget of his proposed $ 500 million has been bleached to more than $ 700 million. Obama has raised the money from private donors and his center will be managed by his foundation.
The final opening, previously planned for 2021 before the challenges arose, is ready to establish a modern record for time between a presidency and completion.
The opening is currently planned for 2026.
The Ronald Reagan library opened just over 1,000 days after the last day of Reagan at the office. Bill Clinton's lasted 1,398 days. Those of George HW Bush and George W. Bush were on average 1,653 days.
It is likely that the Obama center will open more than 3,100 days since he was president.
Former President Barack Obama, second from the left, is accompanied by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, left, former First Lady Michelle Obama and mayor Lori Lightfoot in Chicago during a groundbreaking ceremony for the Obama Presidential Center in September 2021
The last time Barack and Michelle Obama were seen together was in mid -December, more than a month ago, when they got out of dinner in Los Angeles (above)
Jennifer Aniston publicly made 'absolutely false' claims from a US Gossip Magazine that she and Barack had a relationship.
In the meantime, Barack and Michelle Obama seem determined to set up a united front in an attempt to fight the rumors around their marriage.
The former president made it clear that he and his wife are a team in a newly shared explanation about the horrible plane crash in Washington, DC, on Thursday evening.
While sharing a moving message to the people who lost loved ones in the tragedy, Barack, 63, terms such as 'Our Hearts Break' and 'Michelle and I send our prayers' – a subtle closure of the constant speculation that they are that They are on their way to divorce.
Michelle, 61, has shown his emotional function according to his own report.
It was one day after the couple released another joint statement that announced that the Obama Presidential Center Hadiya Pendleton would honor.
Hadiya, a Honor Roll student, was murdered with her majorette team in 2013 only a few days after the performance at Obama's second inauguration. Michelle Obama, then the First Lady, attended her funeral.
The last time the couple was seen together, was early in December, more than a month ago, when they separated for dinner in Los Angeles.
Photos of the evening show Michelle smiled at cameras while she left the popular celebrity hotspot mother Wolf – while her husband left her husband, with a more serious expression.
Last October, actress Jennifer Aniston publicly concluded 'absolutely untrue' claims of a gossip magazine that she and Barack had a relationship.
The rumor was exacerbated by the hosts of a popular pop culture podcast that? Every week, who claimed that the Obamas 'lived separately' while he and Jennifer had a complete affair.
The star of friends told the late night host Jimmy Kimmel: 'I met him once. I know Michelle more than him. '
