Obama Center has lofty dei goals and ethnic minority contractors are now suing $40 million in race lawsuits
The long-awaited construction of libraries and museums by former Chicago President Barack Obama began with an ambitious program of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), but is now subject to huge cost overruns, delays and 40.75 billion The huge cost of the dollar, a racial charge lawsuit filed by ethnic minorities. contractor.
From the outset, the effort touted Dei as a key part of Obama’s legacy on the 19.3-acre site, with no publicly available data, according to previous annual reports, costing from initial $350 million to $830 million in 2021, according to previous annual reports. Projection cost for updates. The project sets out “ambitious goals” for certain building diversity quotas and allocates its contracts to “diversified suppliers”, 35% of which are minority-based businesses (MBEs).
“With these positive goals, the foundation hopes to set new precedents for major construction projects in Chicago and beyond,” the Obama Foundation wrote in a 2017 press release.
Former President Obama and his presidential center. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg, Left and Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images, right.)
The importance of DEI was cited in a blast lawsuit filed last month by Robert McGee, the black co-owner of II. The company is a subcontractor for minority enterprises, providing specific and reinforced services to the center.
McGee claims he and his company, Thornton Tomasetti, a company in New York, have been racist in Thornton Tomasetti, which oversees structural engineering and design services.
In the lawsuit, McGee claimed Thornton Tomasetti changed the standards and imposed new rules around the requirements of steel spacing and tolerance that were different from the US Institute of Concrete. The lawsuit claims the changes caused his company to over $40 million in mass overspending, putting it on the brink of bankruptcy.
McGee’s lawsuit stems from a memorandum Thornton Tomasetti wrote to the project’s main construction partner a year ago, claiming that II (and working with the project The contract company encountered many challenges during the project.
The memorandum contains images of cracked flat plates and exposed rebars to support its claim. Thornton Tomasetti said it took hundreds of hours to review, analyze, redesign and respond to corrective measures, and subcontractors created “many problems in the field.”
“Construction issues are driven by inadequate performance and inexperience of concrete subcontractors,” the memorandum stated.
Thornton Tomasetti said the concrete challenge was attributed only to subcontractors, writing that “it was impossible when contractors tried to blame their shortcomings on the design team.”
The memorandum continues to point out that Thornton Tomasetti and a construction company: “Bending backwards to help everyone know is a team of qualified subcontractors in a more qualified one Areas that subcontractors don’t need.”
Images of the Obama Presidential Center this week. (Fox News)
The memorandum was the basis of McGee’s lawsuit last month because he claimed it contained “founded allegations of criticism, defamation and discrimination.”
The lawsuit alleges that Thornton Tomasetti undermined the project’s diversity and inclusion goals, which are outlined in the project’s overall contract. The lawsuit also cites the project’s construction manager’s 2022 DEI report, which outlines the project’s “realized a lot of business engagement”. A report broke the demographics of people involved in the project, which was also released in April.
The lawsuit states that the plaintiffs “have been subjected to unreasonable and discriminatory conduct…this directly undermines the Obama Foundation’s DEI goals and commitments, as well as to the construction industry and local communities by providing solutions to the barriers that historically block vulnerable businesses. The mission of bringing change is involved in projects of this scale.”
The lawsuit alleges that Thornton Tomasetti violated the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and that its so-called “defamatory and discriminatory statements and actions” caused II, Bob McGee ) and other subcontractors suffered extreme financial losses and potential bankruptcy.
The lawsuit alleges that Thornton Tomasetti discriminated against II in a “race-based” manner.
McGee claimed that Thornton Tomasetti falsely blamed II in a job of lacking sufficient qualifications and experience, while noting in the memorandum that contractors owned by non-small persons were sufficiently qualified.
The lawsuit also claims that the Obama Foundation relied on Thornton Tomasetti’s memo because they did not pay “extra fees” for the $40.75 million subcontractor’s site near Jackson Park. In Chicago.
McGee’s lawsuit dismisses allegations in Thornton Tomasetti’s memo that his company has no experience or potential qualifications, points to II’s 40-year track record in the industry and completes Completed large-scale Chicago projects including Millennium Park, Harold Washington Cultural Center and The Millennium Park, as well as the American Airlines terminal at O’Hare Airport.
In the memo, Thornton Tomasetti shared images of cracked flat plates and exposed rebars. (litigation)
“In addition, Bob McGee realized and supported the Obama Foundation’s diversity and inclusion goals and never imagined that the Obama Foundation’s structural engineers would be in a qualification that lacked sufficient qualifications Pick out a minority-owned subcontractor to accuse unfairly criticized and falsely accused II and show in the same letter that contractors owned by non-missors are sufficiently qualified,” the memorandum reads.
“In a shocking and frustrating incident, the African-American owner of a local construction company found himself and his company on the verge of forced closures due to racism by structural engineers,” the lawsuit reads. “II And its joint venture partners… were subject to unfounded criticism and allegations of defamation and discrimination by Thornton Tomasetti, a structural engineer at the Obama Foundation.
The Obama Foundation said it was not a party to the lawsuit and insisted that it would not cause any delays in the specific work, which it said was largely done.
“If the foundation believes that any supplier acts with racist intentions, we will immediately Take appropriate action.” The foundation has not responded to requests for information on the cost of the project’s update.
The Obama Presidential Center is intended to commemorate the political career of former President Barack Obama. It will consist of museums, libraries, conference facilities, gymnasiums and regulations-sized NBA courts. It will also house the nonprofit Obama Foundation, which is overseeing the development of the center.
Obama Center Subcontractor Files $40 Million Discrimination Litigation Against Engineering Company
Watch: Obama Presidential Center is expected to open in 2026
Chicago South Side Residents Say They Are Replaced by Obama Center: Causing “Helps for Black Family”
In the past, the project has encountered problems. Construction was initially expected to begin in 2018, but has been postponed to 2021. It is scheduled to open sometime in 2026.
Some community activists claim that the new center will lead to higher prices for homes and rents and may cost many people living in the area. Environmentalists are also critical of the project, believing it will remove too many trees and destroy some bird habitats.
According to Newsweek, activists threatened to sue for preventing development, but plans to build the center were approved shortly after the lawsuit was filed. The Supreme Court denied the request to hear the case in 2021.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, left, joins former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama on September 28, 2021 at Obama in Jackson Park, Chicago, Illinois The Presidential Center held a breakout at a ceremony. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Click here to get the Fox News app
Representatives of II declined to comment. Fox News Digital also contacted a representative of Thornton Tomasetti for comment.
On January 31, the company’s senior principal and structural engineer Scott A. Schneider filed a time to answer the complaint on January 31, court documents show. The court extended the deadline for answers to March 5, 2025.
Michael Lew of Fox News contributed to the report.
Read Litigation: Application Users Click here:
