‘COWARDICE AND HATE’

Noose Found at Obama Presidential Center Stops Construction

A $100,000 reward has been offered by the construction coalition building the center for information leading to those responsible.

Construction on the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago will be halted for an indeterminate amount of time after a noose was discovered at the project site on Thursday morning, according to officials. Lakeside Alliance, the Black-led construction coalition leading the building project, which began last August in Jackson Park, said in a statement that the police had been notified. The group also offered a $100,000 reward “to help find” those responsible for the placement of the noose. “We have zero tolerance for any form of bias or hate on our worksite,” a spokesperson added. In a separate statement, the Obama Foundation condemned the noose as a “shameless act of cowardice and hate,” a sentiment that Gov. J.B. Pritzker echoed, saying, “Hate has no place in Illinois. The noose is more than a symbol of racism, it is a heart-stopping reminder of the violence and terror inflicted on Black Americans for centuries.” The governor added that the state would be making “all needed resources available to help catch the perpetrators.”