CHICAGO (AP) – A federal judge says he’ll issue a ruling Tuesday on a city of Chicago request to toss a lawsuit aimed at stopping construction of Barack Obama’s $500 million presidential center in a lakeside park.
Judge John Robert Blakey heard arguments Thursday from lawyers for the city and for a parks-advocacy group that says the project violates laws barring development in public parks hugging Lake Michigan.
Oral arguments focused on questions about whether Protect Our Parks has proper standing to sue. Blakey asked that it show it has members who are local taxpayers.
Obama picked Chicago for the center over other proposals, including from Hawaii.
One spectator at Thursday’s hearing, Erin Adams, hopes the suit is dismissed. She fears the Obamas will get frustrated by the litigation and build the center elsewhere.
