The ribbon-cutting was festive. The celebrity guest list was impressive. But behind the gleaming facade of the newly opened Obama Presidential Center on Chicago’s South Side, a number of the workers who actually built the place say they are drowning in debt they may never recover from.
What was billed as a landmark investment in minority entrepreneurship and community empowerment has instead left multiple subcontractors alleging they are owed anywhere from hundreds of thousands to tens of millions of dollars — with little resolution in sight.
The center’s construction budget stood at $830 million as of 2021. That figure is widely believed to have since crossed the $1 billion threshold, though the full cost has not been publicly confirmed.
Fox News Digital conducted an investigation identifying numerous firms claiming financial harm tied to the project — a direct contradiction of one of the center’s signature pledges: that it would create meaningful economic opportunity for local and minority-owned businesses.
Mike Owen, who owns Adamson Plumbing, is among those who decided to go on record. His company, he says, finished the job roughly $4 million in the hole.
“That is a hole that no subcontractor, small business can survive,” Owen said.
Owen made his case standing outside the completed structure, flipping through financial records and spreadsheets he says tell the real story of what working on this project cost him.
He describes a construction environment defined by constant change: shifting design requirements, scheduling disruptions, and a relentless stream of revision requests that forced his crew to keep working long past what the original contract envisioned.
One particularly striking example involves Adamson’s stormwater system installation. Owen was required to tear out and redo that work at a cost approaching $900,000.
Records later reviewed by Fox News Digital indicate that Chicago’s chief plumbing inspector determined Adamson’s original installation had complied with city code all along.
His company submitted more than 100 change-order requests across the life of the project. He has not yet filed suit but says his attorney has formally reached out to project representatives in an effort to recover what he believes Adamson is owed.
The professional damage, Owen says, has been compounded by a personal toll that is difficult to overstate.
“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.”
While Owen was tallying losses, the center was hosting a star-studded pre-opening celebration featuring Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, and John Legend.
For Owen and others in similar positions, watching that event play out carried a particular sting.
“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 said he chose to speak publicly only after exhausting quieter options.
“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,” he 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.”
Omar Shareef, president of the African American Contractors Association, told Fox News Digital that Black subcontractors began bringing their concerns to him privately roughly six months before the opening. Fear, he says, has kept most of them from going public.
“They are scared to death about talking about it,” Shareef said.
He warned that the financial fallout could effectively push seven to ten minority-owned firms out of business entirely — damaging their bonding capacity, their banking relationships, and their standing with suppliers.
“The promise was that this project was going to uplift minority contractors and uplift the community,” Shareef said. “What sense is celebrating Juneteenth if our Black contractors are not getting their money?”
The project’s most substantial known legal dispute involves the Concrete Collective, a joint venture that included Black-owned II in One Concrete. That group filed claims surpassing $40 million, alleging significant cost overruns it was never compensated for.
A racial discrimination lawsuit followed, alleging minority subcontractors were treated inequitably throughout the build. Defendants denied any wrongdoing. The case remains active in court.
Court filings also show at least two minority-owned subcontractors pursued Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2024. Glass Management Services listed potential litigation against the Obama Presidential Center as a possible source of future recovery.
Vision Painting & Decorating Services separately filed for bankruptcy while listing the center’s contract among its assets.
The Obama Foundation directed questions to Lakeside Alliance, the construction manager it hired and paid, noting it carries no direct contractual relationship with the alliance’s subcontractors.
Lakeside Alliance acknowledged that disputes commonly persist after large projects close and said it remains committed to working through outstanding matters. Neither party directly contested the individual loss claims raised by subcontractors.
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