A statement from The Cultural Landscape Foundation following U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey's ruling in favor of the Protect Our Parks, Inc. lawsuit concerning the Obama Presidential Center

Media Contact: Nord Wennerstrom | T: 202.483.0553  | M: 202.225.7076 | E: nord@tclf.org

A statement from The Cultural Landscape Foundation following U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey's ruling in favor of the Protect Our Parks, Inc. lawsuit (Case No. 18-cv-3424: Protect Our Parks, Inc. v. Chicago Park District and City of Chicago) challenging the legality of confiscating some 20 acres of Jackson Park for the Obama Presidential Center:

“The Obama Foundation and the University of Chicago created this controversy by insisting on the confiscation of public parkland,” said Charles A. Birnbaum, President & CEO of The Cultural Landscape Foundation. “The Obama Foundation could make this issue go away by using vacant and/or city-owned land on the South Side for the Obama Presidential Center (which is planned to be a private facility rather than a presidential library administered by the National Archives), or, better still, land owned by the University of Chicago, which submitted the winning bid to host the Center.”

NOTE: On January 15, 2019, The Cultural Landscape Foundation filed a “friend of the court” (amicus curiae) brief in Federal Court concerning the lawsuit by Protect Our Parks, Inc. The Cultural Landscape Foundation's amicus curiae brief cites key sources about Frederick Law Olmsted’s design intent and the historic importance of the Olmsted park; the absence of data-driven analysis about the park’s use and carrying capacity; and other issues.  (Note: TCLF's amicus curiae brief is ten pages and there are sixty-five pages of attachments).

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