US

Obama Presidential Center Construction Suspended After Alleged Noose Found At Site

Photo by Joshua Lott/AFP via Getty Images

Devan Bugbee Contributor
Font Size:

Construction crews suspended work on the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Illinois, Thursday morning after a noose was allegedly found at the location.

Following the discovery, Lakeside Alliance, the company tasked with constructing the center, told police that a noose had been found on site and suspended all construction on the $830 million project celebrating the legacy of former President Barack Obama, the New York Post reported. The company purportedly plans to give its employees additional anti-bias training based on its “zero tolerance” policy “for any form of bias or hate on our worksite,” Lakeside Alliance told the outlet. (RELATED: Demand For Racism Exceeds Supply As Investigation Finds Racist Texts To Airman Are A Hoax)

“We are horrified that this would occur on our site,” the company said, according to MSNBC. Chicago police said the incident is under investigation, and Lakeside Alliance is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the culprit, the outlet reported.

Photos from the site show Chicago police officers carrying a bag filled with coils of rope through the site, which has been blocked off with yellow police tape.

The case quickly drew comparisons to a 2020 incident in which a crew member allegedly discovered a noose in the garage of black NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace. The FBI eventually determined that Wallace was not the victim of a hate crime and that the pull rope in question had been hanging from Wallace’s garage door for nearly a year.

Lakeside Alliance, which is a syndicate of at least five Black-owned construction businesses, began the construction in Jackson Park, named after former President Andrew Jackson, in Sept 2021 and expects to finish by 2025,  the Washington Post noted.

Lakeside Alliance did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.