[nomarandlee]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,4157412.story

Obama library officials allow parties to make their bid

By Dahleen Glanton

Tribune reporter

3:13 p.m. CDT, March 20, 2014

The foundation established to lead the development of President Obama’s library and museum opened the door Thursday for institutions and groups to begin making a pitch to host the site.

The Barack Obama Foundation issued its long-awaited Request for Qualifications on its newly named website, inviting applicants to provide information about how their proposal would impact the community and how it would reflect the president’s vision........

The University of Chicago has said it plans to bid for the library and build it at a location off campus, preferably on the mid-South Side. The university has pulled together a coalition of business leaders and representatives from community organizations on the South Side to work on the bid in an advisory capacity, officials said.

Chicago State University and the University of Illinois at Chicago also plan to bid. Representatives in Pullman, Woodlawn and the Southeast Side also have expressed interest.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel, however, has said that there would be a unified proposal from the city, but he has not said how that bid would come together. A single proposal, the mayor said last month, would strengthen Chicago's chances of getting the library.

Other challenges are expected to come from Columbia University in New York and the University of Hawaii in Honolulu..........
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