CHICAGO — The Obama Presidential Center was billed as a lasting legacy to former President Barack Obama, and its construction was touted as an ambitious model built with aggressive goals for minority-owned and local businesses.
But now, some of the very subcontractors who helped build the 19.3-acre campus on Chicago’s South Side say they are facing financial ruin as they race to recover millions of dollars they claim remain unpaid ahead of the center's grand opening Friday. Overall construction costs were reported to be $830 million in 2021, and have likely climbed past the $1 billion mark.
A Fox News Digital investigation identified multiple construction firms claiming losses ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars to tens of millions. The allegations cut against one of the Center's defining through one of Chicago's highest-profile construction projects. Several of the complaints reviewed by Fox News Digital come from firms that were supposed to benefit from that mission.
Among them is Adamson Plumbing, whose owner Mike Owen says is nearly $4 million in the red after years of work on the project.
"That is a hole that no subcontractor, small business can survive," Owen said.
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Subcontractor owners interviewed by Fox News Digital described what they characterized as a chaotic work environment marked by repeated design changes, rework, scheduling disruptions, extensive oversight and years-long compensation disputes that still remain unresolved.
Several also described what they viewed as a wall of silence surrounding the project, with some declining to speak publicly or requesting anonymity because of confidentiality agreements or fears of professional retaliation.
The allegations emerge days after a Fox News Digital investigation reported that the Obama Foundation’s reserve fund — originally promoted as a $470 million financial safeguard intended to help protect taxpayers if the project encountered financial trouble — remains funded at roughly $1 million.
Nearly $4 million in the red
Standing outside the center on a gloomy Friday afternoon, Owen flipped through spreadsheets and financial records that he said documented millions of dollars in losses tied to the project.
Owen said the project stretched on for years longer than anticipated, forcing his company to absorb millions of dollars in labor and overhead costs as work demands changed and expanded.
He said the losses have drained the company's reserves, created uncertainty for employees and could ultimately force layoffs. Owen also said the years-long effort to recover what he believes is money owed has taken a significant toll on his mental health.
"I haven't had eight hours or six hours sleep in over a year," Owen said. "I'm cooked emotionally. I feel like an aluminum can that's been thrown in front of a steamroller. We're crushed. And I have to fight for my company and for my people."
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As the center prepares for a star-studded pre-opening celebration on Thursday featuring performers including Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder and John Legend, Owen said it has been difficult to watch the buildup and soft-opening events take shape over the past few weeks while his company struggles financially.
"It was kind of hard seeing some local and national celebrities high-fiving and back-slapping here about the work that's been done," Owen said. "The backdrop of a coming celebration is kind of hard to swallow for me and for some of my peers at the moment."
Owen, whose company is not minority-owned, said he decided to speak publicly only after months of failed efforts to recover losses he attributes to the project.
"As for me and my company, I’m at the end of my rope and I see no other choice than to have to tell my story," Owen said. "This is not to embarrass anybody, but this is just to make sure that the truth gets told out here of what has happened to the companies that poured their heart and soul into getting this job complete and operational."
He said unnecessary rework, delays and more than 100 change-order requests left his company absorbing millions of dollars in additional costs.
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The Obama Foundation, Obama’s private nonprofit organization that oversees the construction, told Fox News Digital that it paid Lakeside Alliance as the project’s construction manager and that Lakeside was responsible for hiring, managing and paying subcontractors working on the center.
The Obama Foundation also said it has no outstanding disputed charges with Lakeside Alliance -- a joint venture involving multiple construction companies — and no contractural relationship with Lakeside's subcontractors.
Lakeside Alliance said projects of this scale are inherently complex and that outstanding project matters often continue long after construction ends. The alliance said approximately 475 contractors worked on the project, generating significant opportunities for local tradespeople and businesses, and that it remains committed to working through outstanding matters to successfully close out the project.
Neither Lakeside Alliance nor the Obama Foundation directly disputed allegations from some subcontractors that they incurred losses while working on the project.