Activists concerned with how the Obama Presidential Library could affect residents of Jackson Park confronted members of the City Council Black Caucus on Wednesday during a press conference meant to congratulate the contractors, several of which are African American, hired to manage the library’s construction. Activists say they want a community benefits agreement to protect residents in the neighborhood from displacement. “What we need is an in-writing community benefits agreement that says that people who live in those communities will benefit, not benefit in a profiteering way, but jobs, investment in neighborhood elementary schools, transportation infrastructure,” Jitu Brown told the Chicago Tribune. The Coalition To Save Jackson Park (CTSJP) also filed a FOIA lawsuit this week demanding withheld records regarding the library. “The press and the public have a right to know what decisions are being made behind closed doors,” said Gabriel Piemonte, a Coalition member, in a press release.
