Obamas Presidential Center Opening as Unpaid Subcontractors Claim Millions Owed
African American Contractors Association President Omar Shareef blasted the Obama Center and noted that many of the black-owned businesses Obama has stiffed are “scared to death about talking about it” because they fear a backlash for criticizing Obama.
“I’ve never seen this happen since I’ve been in business,” Shareef added. “The building does look nice, but the fact doesn’t matter that they’re not paying our damn contractors.”
“The promise was that this project was going to uplift minority contractors and uplift the community,” Shareef continued. “What sense is celebrating Juneteenth if our Black contractors are not getting their money?”
Shareef also said that many of these black-owned businesses are wishing they had never become involved with the Obama Center.
The situation is compounded by the fact that the Obama Foundation never funded the $470 million backup fund they agreed to bankroll in case costs ran over the Center’s budget. So far, the Foundation has put a mere $1 million in the fund, an amount that doesn’t come anywhere near covering the cost overruns and unpaid construction fees.
The $470 backup fund was supposed to be the guarantee that Chicago and Illinois taxpayers would not be on the hook to pay for the overruns. But now that is looking like taxpayers might be stuck with the bills despite the agreement the Obama Foundation signed with state and local officials.
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