Obama Library Decision on Hold Until After the Runoff

The drama over the Obama library has suddenly turned into a hurry up and wait situation after the Barack Obama Foundation announced it would postpone any decision until after the Chicago Mayoral runoff April 7, in order to not give the appearance of favoring one candidate over the other, according to the Tribune. While the Plan Commission has approved the land transfer that would allow the library to be built on either of the University of Chicago's proposed South Side sites, the City Council won't vote until the 18th of the month.

Conventional wisdom suggests Rahm has the most to gain, since he's claimed he'd move "heaven and Earth" to bring the library to Chicago and has orchestrated a land swap to appease the foundation's requests. The mid-March vote may allow him to appear like he's moving forward, without having to face the risk of losing the library until after the election. Chuy recently flipped on his opposition to using parkland for the library, saying "It appears there are two sites left, a South Side and a West Side site. Whatever the final decision is made by the selection committee and President Obama, I will support." With the focus squarely on the South Side, it's good to hear a reminder that the UIC site is still in the running.

·Obama library site may not be revealed until after runoff, source says [Tribune]
·Obama Library Gets City Plan Commission OK To Use Parkland [DNAinfo]
·Obama Library Decision Delayed Until After Mayoral Runoff [Chicagoist]
·Previous Obama Library coverage [Curbed Chicago]