Obama Center Opens in Chicago with a Call to Defend Democracy and a Celebrity Crowd
The center opens as Obama frames it as a call for Democrats to rebuild local organizing and turnout before the midterms.
- On June 18, former President Barack Obama dedicated the Obama Presidential Center, a 19.3-acre campus in Jackson Park on Chicago's South Side that opened to the public on Juneteenth.
- Every element of the center reflects Obama's consistent argument that democracy's real work happens at the local level, not through national politics, rooted in 'citizenship' that implies people owe something beyond voting.
- Thousands gathered at a public watch party on Midway Plaisance to celebrate, and Former First Lady Michelle Obama called the center a 'beacon of hope' built on values like equality, empathy, and fairness.
- The center's message arrives as Democrats face critical midterm races in November in Georgia, Michigan, and New Hampshire, where margins will be decided by ground-level organizing in precincts worked or ignored.
- Roughly 15 miles across Chicago, West Suburban Medical Center closed June 11 after private equity ownership; critics point to similar collapses at Chicago-area hospitals Weiss Memorial and Westlake as lawmakers introduce 79 bills in 25 states addressing such healthcare disasters.
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Obama Center opens in Chicago with a call to defend democracy and a celebrity crowd
Former President Barack Obama speaks during the dedication ceremony for the Obama Presidential Center, Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry) By Scott Bauer Associated Press Former President Barack Obama formally opened his presidential center in Chicago on Thursday with a call to defend democracy as three former presidents joined him on stage in an extraordinary event featuring politicians, A-list celebrities, athletes and o…
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Off the news: Hawaii’s cameo at Obama Center opening | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Of course, the newly minted Obama Presidential Center in Chicago talks about Hawaii’s impact on Barack Obama during his youth, but introductory remarks at the center’s opening Thursday offered perhaps the most evocative tribute.
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