Obama's presidential library headed to Chicago
President Obama's future presidential library will be located in Chicago, two people familiar with the selection tell CBS News Correspondent Julianna Goldman.
A spokesperson for one of the universities that submitted a bid for the library confirmed to CBS News that the winning bid came from the University of Chicago, although the exact location was not disclosed. The president used to teach law at the University of Chicago, and the school is also home to the Institute of Politics, recently established in 2013 and directed by former top Obama adviser David Axelrod.
The University of Hawaii, in Mr. Obama's birthplace, and Columbia University, where he earned his bachelor's degree, were the two other universities on the short list.
A total of 13 applications were submitted to the Barack Obama Foundation, which is developing and raising money for the project, in 2014. The final four schools were announced in September of that year and asked to submit formal, in-depth proposals by December.
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CBS 2 in Chicago reported that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Mr. Obama's former chief of staff, and Democratic legislative leaders received a call from the president last Friday implying that the city would get the library. They also report a formal announcement is planned for the week after next, although that still may not include an announcement about exact site.
Last week, the Illinois legislature amended state law to allow for a presidential library to be constructed on public park land.
CBS 2 reports that it will cost $500 million to build the library and museum and will create 1,900 permanent jobs and $220 million in annual economic activity. So far, they report, the Obama Foundation has raised just $6 million for the project.
Modern presidential libraries are built with private funds but the upkeep is covered by taxpayers. The 14 presidential libraries and museums in the system are administered by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
They are typically located in presidents' home states and house documents, records, artifacts and other materials relating to the presidency.
CBS News' Adam Aigner-Treworgy contributed to this report.