Locals Rip Obama Over Latest Update To Controversial Presidential Library
“I’m outside the Obama Center museum tower right now. The new letters — an excerpt from Obama’s Selma speech — are tough read to me, giving off the lorem ipsum vibes,” Chicago Sun-Times architecture critic Lee Bay wrote on LinkedIn, a reference to the Latin placeholder text often used in graphic design templates.
But the unusual design of former President Barack Obama’s new presidential center in Chicago is facing fresh criticism, this time due to complaints that a newly added inscription on the building is nearly illegible
The Ts, Ls, and Is are indistinguishable,” former investment banker and best-selling author John LeFevre
The Obama Library is the ultimate monument to DEI.
— John LeFevre (@JohnLeFevre) February 18, 2026
The words are cut off. The Ts, Ls, and Is are indistinguishable.
Looks like a trash can.
Scheduled to open in 2021.
Still not done.
3x over budget.
Requirements: minority architect and contractors, stealing 20 acres of… pic.twitter.com/vYDfb4D77s
” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>noted on X,
adding that the structure “Looks like a trash can.”
I's indistinguishable from L's and T's. E's indistinguishable from F's. Multiple words get disjointed–not just on one plane but two.
— Jacob Shell (@JacobAShell) February 17, 2026
Truly, one of the most headache-inducing reading experiences I've ever had. pic.twitter.com/hohr6Whusy
They somehow managed to make the Obama presidential library even uglier.
— johnny maga (@johnnymaga) February 17, 2026
My gosh. 😭 pic.twitter.com/lmZnyJ4FSs
Breaking: The Obama Presidential Center—now an $850M concrete Taj Mahal on public parkland—proves hope & change was really just “hope you don’t notice the change in our bank accounts.”
— ZeroDEIUSA (@zeroDEIUSA) March 12, 2026
Valerie Jarrett, eternal Obama whisperer, “earned” $740K as CEO in 2024. That’s right—$740,000… pic.twitter.com/Ts3CNuEKY2
In addition to the eyesore, many residents of Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood, near the Obama Presidential Center, face a difficult situation: they must either pay more rent or risk losing their house.
Temple University Professor Jacob Shell also said that the E’s are also “indistinguishable from F’s,” and that “multiple words get disjointed — not just on one plane but two.”
According to the group, a potential buyer intends to either renovate or completely demolish their building. Rent would increase in either case.According to the tenants, a few other organizations joined them on Thursday morning in an effort to maintain the affordability of their apartments.
I don’t want to be forced out. I don’t want to be told I have to leave. I want to be able to stay,” said resident Kyana Butler. “I want to be able to let my daughter, and I want her to grow up in the same building I grew up in.” Valerie Jarrett, CEO of the Obama Foundation and a senior adviser during President Obama’s two terms, highlighted that he has played an active role in shaping the design of his library.
