Blog: 'Privately funded' Obama presidential library could cost Illinois taxpayers $100 million or more

Blog: 'Privately funded' Obama presidential library could cost Illinois taxpayers $100 million or more
"Erecting a monument to the Obama presidency is a task best handled quickly, before the seeds of disaster planted in Iran, the federal debt, and the FISA Court (among other places) come to full flower.
And despite promises of private funding, taxpayers are going to have to cough up, even in Illinois, a fiscal dead man walking with pension obligations that dwarf the taxing capacity of the state and the City of Chicago.  
Barack's plans for a monument to his glory will not be thwarted by mere politicians or community groups.
Lynn Sweet and Tina Sfondeles of the Chicago Sun-Times report:
Senate President John Cullerton and House Speaker Michael Madigan – the Chicago Democrats who control the Illinois General Assembly – are mapping plans for the state to help pay for infrastructure improvements in and around Jackson Park related to the Obama Presidential Center.
...A source told the Sun-Times that over time, the state could be asked for more than $100 million for transportation improvement projects triggered by construction of the Center.
PBS station WTTW adds:
Sources tell Chicago Tonight there have been bipartisan talks among lawmakers for $100 million in capital funding to assist with the Obama Presidential Center..."