{"id":2616216,"date":"2026-06-19T11:06:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T15:06:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obamas-library-just-opened-but-some-of-the-black-contractors-have-said-theyre-owed-serious-money\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T11:09:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T15:09:04","slug":"obamas-library-just-opened-but-some-of-the-black-contractors-have-said-theyre-owed-serious-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obamas-library-just-opened-but-some-of-the-black-contractors-have-said-theyre-owed-serious-money\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama&#8217;s Library Just Opened, But Some of the Black Contractors Have Said They&#8217;re Owed Serious Money"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fobamas-library-just-opened-but-some-of-the-black-contractors-have-said-theyre-owed-serious-money%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2616216&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the controversy surrounding the Obama Presidential Centre in Chicago, highlighting that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gov-desantis-intensifies-fight-to-keep-migrants-out-of-fla\/\" title=\"Gov. DeSantis intensifies fight to keep migrants out of Fla.\">contractors involved<\/a> in the project face notable financial issues due to not being paid, with some owed amounts reaching seven figures. African American contractors, in particular, express frustration and fear of retribution for speaking out. The project was initially promoted as a means to uplift minority contractors and the community, but many contractors now <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/thousands-of-florida-households-facing-financial-ruin-in-wake-of-hurricane-ian\/\" title=\"Thousands Of Florida Households Facing Financial \u2018Ruin\u2019 In Wake Of Hurricane Ian\">face financial ruin<\/a>, loss of assets, and harmed relationships with suppliers and banks. an example includes Adamson Plumbing, which incurred a $4 million loss due to unforeseen change orders. Critics, including Illinois GOP leader Robert Grogan, warn that taxpayers may be liable for the project&#8217;s costs, questioning the promised endowment intended as a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >financial safety net<\/a>. The situation has caused distress among small businesses and raised concerns about clarity and accountability in the project&#8217;s management.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>As former President Barack Obama\u2019s monument to himself opened in Chicago, contractors said the project was a monumental disaster because they never got paid.<\/p>\n<p>African American Contractors Association president Omar ef said multiple people are angry over not being paid sums that reach seven figures, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.com\/news\/article-15904905\/obama-library-fury-contractors-paid-critics-slam-anti-Christian.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Daily Mail<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>ef said \u201cit\u2019s to the point that they wished they had never done\u201d the project.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s worse, fear of retribution for speaking out against the project is keeping some quiet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey are scared to death about talking about it,\u201d ef told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/subcontractors-say-theyre-owed-millions-face-financial-ruin-helping-build-obama-presidential-center\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve never seen this happen since I\u2019ve been in business,\u201d ef added. \u201cThe building does look nice, but the fact doesn\u2019t matter that they\u2019re not paying our damn contractors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>ef said the project broke its lofty social aspirations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe promise was that this project was going to uplift minority contractors and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/chicago-residents-unionize-fight-possible-displacement-rent-hikes-over-obama-presidential-center\" data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_10\">uplift the community<\/a>,\u201d ef said. \u201cWhat sense is celebrating Juneteenth if our black contractors are not getting their money?\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">\u201cSome of the people have put their mortgages up, they\u2019re going to lose their bonding\u2026 they are going to lose their relationship with their supplier as well as their banker,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">\u201cThat\u2019s a bad signal to put out the fact that seven to eight to maybe 10 of our contractors in our community are going to be eliminated from doing business because of the debt that they incurred on this particular project,\u201d he said. \u201cIf they would have known it was a Trojan horse or a Pandora\u2019s box, I don\u2019t know if they would have raced as much as they did to be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Adamson Plumbing owner Mike Owen, who is not a minority contractor, said that in the course of the project, more than 100 change orders forced him to do work other than what was planned, leaving him $4 million in the red.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is a hole that no subcontractor, small business can survive,\u201d Owen said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI haven\u2019t had eight hours or six hours sleep in over a year,\u201d Owen said. \u201cI\u2019m cooked emotionally. I feel like an aluminum can that\u2019s been thrown in front of a steamroller. We\u2019re crushed. And I have to fight for my company and for my people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was kind of hard seeing some local and national celebrities high-fiving and back-slapping here about the work that\u2019s been done,\u201d Owen said.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Owen noted that he went public because he had no other option.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">\u201cAs for me and my company, I\u2019m at the end of my rope and I see no other choice than to have to tell my story,\u201d Owen said. \u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Illinois Republican Party Chair Robert Grogan said he\u2019s worried taxpayers could end up paying the bills.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of their core promises was they were supposed to create an endowment as basically an insurance policy so the taxpayers wouldn\u2019t get stuck with the bill,\u201d he said, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/obama-presidential-centers-470m-safety-net-scrutiny-subcontractors-say-theyre-owed-millions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey promised hundreds of millions of dollars for it. It\u2019s still sitting at the $1 million mark [where it stood] when they opened it up. So I don\u2019t believe that they\u2019ve kept that promise. The fact that they have created this probably unsustainable edifice to an ego and then, eventually, if it goes under, who\u2019s going to be caught with the bill time and time again? It\u2019s the taxpayers of the city, citizens of Chicago and the state of Illinois,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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Omar Ef of the African American Contractors Association reported many are upset over seven-figure unpaid sums, per Daily Mail<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2616217,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ben-net-64.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[81438,39820,81440,81439,81437],"class_list":["post-2616216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-black-contractors","tag-community-impact","tag-construction-contracts","tag-financial-disputes","tag-obamas-library"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ben-net-64.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2616216"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2616220,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616216\/revisions\/2616220"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2616217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2616216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2616216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2616216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}