May 12--For the moment, Chicago is setting aside its reputation for political gamesmanship and celebrating the pre-dawn announcement that the Barack Obama Presidential Library and Museum is coming to the city. It doesn't really matter that an exact site may not be determined for a few months.
"I'm not going to compare this to when the president was elected," said Ghian Foreman, a lifelong South Sider who was very active in bringing the library here. "But it's the same kind of thing, where you could take a deep breath. It's this feeling of elation and a collective sigh of relief, that, after all these weeks, it's really here."
In a video released early Tuesday, the president and first lady Michelle Obama announced that the library will be located on the South Side, though no decision has been made yet whether it will be built in Jackson Park or Washington Park.
Chicago had been a front-runner for months, given its strong connection to the Obamas: the president became a community activist on the South Side after law school, taught at the University of Chicago law school and was first elected to public office as a state senator from the South Side. Michelle Obama was born and raised in the area.
"All the strands of my life came together and I really became a man when I moved to Chicago," the president said in the video, which showed him with his wife. "That's where I was able to apply that early idealism to try to work in communities in public service. That's where I met my wife. That's where my children were born."
Michelle Obama said she was "thrilled to be able to put this resource in the heart of the neighborhood that means the world to me. Every value, every memory, every important relationship to me exists in Chicago. I consider myself a South Sider."
Even West Siders, whose bid through the University of Illinois at Chicago lost to the South Side proposal, were enthusiastic.
"I couldn't be more excited for the city of Chicago," said Marcus Betts, co-chairman of the North Lawndale Community Development Coalition. "I couldn't imagine the library being any place other than Chicago."
Betts said he'd spoken with a Barack Obama Foundation representative a day earlier and had received assurances that the foundation would include "some collaboration" with UIC.
"There will be opportunities for us to evaluate the progress in other parts of the city," he added. "But today, the city of Chicago should celebrate as one."
For more than a year, the U. of C. had been engaged in a fierce competition with Columbia University in New York, the University of Hawaii in Honolulu and UIC.
While the University of Chicago "has pledged to make resources and infrastructure available," the foundation said Tuesday it plans to also work with three other universities that were finalists, including UIC.
"The foundation intends to maintain a presence at Columbia University for the purpose of exploring and developing opportunities for a long term association," the foundation said in a statement.
"In addition, the foundation will work with the state of Hawaii to establish a lasting presence in Honolulu," the foundation said. "Within Chicago, in addition to its association with the University of Chicago, the foundation also plans to collaborate with the University of Illinois -- Chicago."
Though the U. of C. had long been considered the front-runner, its bid to build the library on the South Side has been entangled in a battle over the use of parkland.
Plans to announce the library in March were delayed after Mayor Rahm Emanuel ended up in a runoff election. The foundation then decided to delay the announcement until after the April 7 election, which Emanuel won.
In late April several news organizations, including the Tribune, reported that Chicago was selected to host the library.
Tuesday's announcement made it official -- though it did not specify that the Obama Presidential Center would be built in partnership with the U. of C.
In a statement to University of Chicago alumni, school President Robert Zimmer sought to clarify the university's role, saying the center and library will be independent from the U. of C. and noting that "neither potential site is on our campus.
"Under federal law, presidential libraries are public institutions operated by the National Archives and Records Administration and supported by an independent foundation," Zimmer stated. "The university will support efforts in community engagement, including planning, economic development, and individual and institutional collaborations."
The selection caps a yearlong competition that began with 13 bids that eventually were narrowed down to four finalists.
The U. of C., where Obama taught constitutional law for a dozen years and Michelle Obama formerly worked as a hospital administrator, had long been considered the leading candidate.
Chicago Tribune's Alex Chachkevitch contributed.
dglanton@tribpub.com
tgregory@tribpub.com
