Protesters in Chicago hold die-in at proposed Obama Presidential Library site

Brett T. | 1:22 AM on January 16, 2015

If there’s any city where illegal shenanigans will not be tolerated, it’s Chicago, so it’s no surprise that a controversy has arisen around the proposed location of the Barack Obama Presidential Library. Public hearings on the plan to build the library at the University of Chicago not only have been packed; they’ve inspired even more “die-ins” by protesters.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports:

The U. of C., which had been mum on many specifics, recently acknowledged for the first time that it hoped to use parkland that it does not own and did not have a clear path to obtaining. That’s despite the university owning large swaths of property in the surrounding area. That spurred [Mayor Rahm] Emanuel to public action.

The university plan, which would use roughly 20 acres at either Jackson or Washington parks, will need the approval of the Chicago Park District and the City Council. But the final decision will be made by the president and first lady Michelle Obama.

https://twitter.com/Vote4Mayor2015/status/555349336981532674

U of C says it had to include parkland in Obama bid because private parcels couldn't give them enough acreage

— Paris Schutz (@paschutz) January 14, 2015

U of C estimates crowd at Obama Library hearing at near 1000, most of them have been raucously in favor of proposal

— Paris Schutz (@paschutz) January 14, 2015

Why the die-in? Protesters had expected the university to construct a level-one hospital trauma center on the site.

This is a story about an institution using its political clout to profit of the suffering of Black people, to perpetuate and advance…

— SHE UChicago (@SHEuchicago) January 12, 2015