Obama just got defunded.
Under the leadership of Elon Musk, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has officially ended the lease at the Hoffman Estates site that houses the Obama Presidential Library. While this move is part of a broader effort to trim government waste, it is unlikely to cause disruption, as the library is scheduled to close by the end of this year and relocate to a new facility.
Located in Hoffman Estates, a suburb northwest of Chicago, the Obama Presidential Library is currently managed by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), in line with all other presidential libraries. However, it is distinct from the larger Obama Presidential Center, which is being developed on the south side of Chicago at Jackson Park. The Center, a private venture under the supervision of the Obama Foundation, is slated to open next year.
This lease termination is part of a wider initiative by DOGE, which has recently terminated 750 federal leases, covering 9.6 million square feet of space. The goal of these cuts is to save taxpayers $468 million annually by eliminating unnecessary and inefficient government spending, a priority championed by President Donald Trump during his administration.
Although the specific timeline for the closure remains unclear, a spokesperson from NARA confirmed that the library will officially cease operations in late Fiscal Year 2025, with its records and artifacts slated to move to College Park, Maryland. These materials include approximately 25 million unclassified documents and 35,000 physical artifacts, which will be digitized and made available to the public at the new Obama Presidential Center.
The Hoffman Estates location, originally a furniture showroom, was leased by NARA in 2016 for $1.4 million annually. The building, owned by Hoffman Estates Medical Development LLC, has been adapted into a climate-controlled facility to house these valuable records. Despite the move to Maryland, some of the artifacts will continue to be displayed at the Obama Presidential Center.
As construction of the Obama Presidential Center progresses, it has faced significant delays and cost overruns, with the original $350 million budget ballooning to $830 million as of 2021. The Center will feature a variety of amenities, including a 235-foot tower museum, conference facilities, and even an NBA-sized basketball court.