CHICAGO (AP) — Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will visit Chicago for a community meeting to discuss their planned library and museum.
The Obama Foundation announced Monday the Obamas will host a round table discussion Wednesday to “update the community” on the progress of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side. The Obamas are also expected to hear from community members on their ideas for the library.
Chicago is where Obama got his start after graduating from Harvard Law School, working first as a community organizer in Chicago’s South Side before jumping into politics, representing the South Side in the Illinois State Senate. Obama would later spring to the U.S. Senate after winning election statewide in Illinois.
Obama also announced his presidential bid in 2007 in Chicago — where he also claimed victory against Republican nominee John McCain in 2008.
New York-based Ralph Appelbaum Associates will head a team of several firms and individuals with expertise in media, lighting and acoustics in designing exhibits.
The foundation has said almost half of the exhibition design work for the museum will be performed by minority- and women-owned businesses.
The project is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
