Challenge to Chicago’s Obama Library Faces Doubt at 7th Circuit

Seventh Circuit judges appeared unlikely to halt construction on the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago’s Jackson Park, pushing back on an environmental group’s assertion that the city’s land use agreement with the Obama Foundation was unlawful.

“If this case is not moot, what would injunctive relief look like?” Judge David F. Hamilton asked Protect Our Parks attorney Richard Epstein during oral arguments Tuesday.

“We want to stop all construction until they are in compliance with the public trust doctrine,” Epstein, a law professor at New York University, said. “We are asking for a complete environmental impact statement to be performed.” ...