Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett rejected a bid from a Chicago-based environmental group begging the highest court of the land to intervene and halt construction of Obama’s presidential library.
Obama library
The last-minute petition was submitted to Amy Coney Barrett because she oversees emergency appeals from the 7th Circuit, which includes Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin.
Amy Coney Barrett, a Trump appointee, had the option to take action or refer it to other justices but she denied the petition.
The environmental group, Protect Our Parks, argued the federal government did not conduct the required assessment of the environmental impact Barack Obama’s library would have on migratory birds and wildlife.
Protect Our Parks argued the federal and state governments illegally segmented the construction project into smaller sections in order to go around a full assessment of its negative impact on the environment.
“The OPC project will promptly dismantle much of Jackson Park’s historic landscape and obliterate trees, wildlife, as well as all of its historic transportation system,” the advocacy group said.
“These facts make the situation cry out for the proper application of the federal laws that all parties indisputably agree are at issue in this case.”
“In constructing the OPC, Respondents will need to demolish significant parts of Jackson Park, its historical resources, parkland, and trees, which will, in turn, adversely affect the human environment, the historic landscape, wildlife, and migratory birds,” the group continued.
“We greatly appreciate the continued support of our project and process by the courts, including now from the highest court in the land,” an Obama Foundation spokesperson said on Friday.
“With their support, and the outpouring of support we’ve received from so many on the South Side and across the city of Chicago, we were so pleased to be able to kick off our construction this past week and get us one day closer to doors opening at the Obama Presidential Center,” they added.
