Obama presidential library officials are dissatisfied with Chicago's two bids for the multimillion-dollar facility as they work toward a decision early next year, according to a source close to the foundation leading the effort on behalf of the president and first lady.
The foundation's board, which includes two prominent Chicagoans, has "major concerns" that the University of Chicago's proposal lacks a site that is wholly controlled either by the university or the city of Chicago, the source said.
All three of U. of C.'s proposed sites are believed to involve Chicago Park District land, including one site along the lakefront. Such a location could invite controversy, as evidenced by the ongoing legal fight over the proposed lakefront location for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.
"They're very hesitant to commit to a site that isn't controlled by the university making the proposal," the source said of the foundation's board. "They wouldn't want to commit to a site and then find out (the library) can't be built on their timeline."
The other local bidder, the University of Illinois at Chicago, will undergo several leadership changes next year, including a new chancellor. A new Republican governor also is expected to appoint a system-wide board chairman. Such new leadership creates "uncertainty," the source said.
These concerns seem to improve the position of the Chicago bidders' chief competitor, New York's Columbia University, which has a site in its West Harlem/Manhattanville neighborhood cleared and ready for the library. The University of Hawaii has also put in a bid but is considered a long shot.
"I don't think the concerns identified about the UIC bid or U. of C. bid are real concerns," said U. of I. board chairman Christopher Kennedy, who says he will not seek a new term when his current one expires in mid-January.
Kennedy said there is no "valid" reason for the Obama library officials to be concerned about upcoming changes in leadership.
"For someone to say they are not going to do business with the university because of leadership changes I think contradicts what millions of students articulate every year with their decision to attend college," said Kennedy, a nephew of former President John F. Kennedy. "The whole university structure is designed ... for it to thrive despite the vagaries of leadership."
The U. of C. has not made its proposal public. But two of its three site options are believed to be wholly owned by the Chicago Park District, one on the lakefront next to the South Shore Cultural Center and another on the western edge of Jackson Park south of the Museum of Science and Industry.
The third option believed to be offered by U. of C. is near the Garfield Boulevard Green Line stop. That location includes parcels owned variously by the university, the CTA and city of Chicago, and sources have told the Tribune it also would include Park District land — using part of Washington Park near the other parcels.
That park also was proposed as the site of the main stadium in the city's failed 2016 Olympics bid. But that stadium would have been temporary, not permanent like the Obama library.
The Obama foundation would prefer to deal with the city rather than the Park District on the land, top mayoral adviser David Spielfogel said.
"The concern voiced to us by the foundation is that they want the city to own the land," Spielfogel said. "They want a one-stop shop. They don't want to deal with multiple government agencies. We're working with them to think through what the options are that give them the sense of security they want but ensure parkland remains under public control."
According to Spielfogel, one option would be for the Park District to deed to the city whatever site the foundation chose, with a clause that would return the land to Park District control if the library is not built. That would require approval by the Park District Board and the City Council.
The request for proposals from the library bidders, due earlier this month, was supposed to have included "a detailed proposed process to obtain control of the site and convey it to the foundation." The concerns expressed by the source indicate that U. of C.'s proposal may have fallen short of the foundation's expectations.
And the burden now appears to be on the city to quickly put together a land plan that the foundation believes should have been done by now.
"Once we have a menu of options, we'll do a community process and engage stakeholders, and figure out whether the communities surrounding the sites are supportive," Spielfogel said. "I think the library is on a tight timeline to get this done. We're working diligently over the holidays coming up with options the community can consider."
Spielfogel said handing over parkland to the foundation is not an option — the land would have to be held by a public body instead.
The source close to the Obama foundation classified UIC's proposal as "strong," but said pending university leadership transitions were cause for concern.
A strong ally of the Obamas, Pat Quinn, is leaving as governor, succeeded by Republican Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner, who will select a U. of I. board chair to replace Kennedy.
A new president of the system also will arrive next year, as will the next UIC chancellor, who faces a trustee vote Jan. 15 and is expected to take over in March.
Kennedy said the goal now is "to get clarity from the Obama administration about what they would like from us."
The source close to the foundation, speaking with the Tribune in the hope it would spur movement by the Chicago bidders, said the foundation believes the local universities, working with city and state officials, can fix the problems. But board members are worried these land and leadership matters won't be addressed in time for a decision from Barack and Michelle Obama, which the foundation says it hopes to have during the first quarter of 2015.
The foundation is led by Chicago private equity executive Marty Nesbitt. A second Chicagoan sitting on the board is Kevin Poorman, who manages holdings for U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, who also is from Chicago.
Complicating matters in the library selection process, the chair of the Chicago Park District, Bryan Traubert, is Pritzker's husband. He has recused himself from library-related deliberations.
Friends of the Parks, the non-profit group that has sued over the Lucas Museum site, sent a letter to the Obamas on Tuesday stating its opposition to placing the presidential library in a park or open space.
The organization, led by Cassandra Francis, urged use of non-park land at one of U. of C.'s proposed locations, near the Garfield Green Line stop, or adoption of UIC's plan, which does not involve public parkland.
These alternative locations "will put large areas of underutilized and mostly vacant land back into use while providing important economic development in the neighborhoods," the group wrote.
Tribune reporter Jodi S. Cohen contributed.
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