The Barack Obama Presidential Library and Museum will be located in Chicago and an official announcement will be made soon, ending speculation on the issue, according to a media report.
President Barack Obama has notified Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Illinois lawmakers who were instrumental in lining up the financing and real estate for the presidential library to be built on the city's South Side.
The decision, while not surprising, comes as a relief to officials in Chicago, CNN reported.
Also Read
The city had initially struggled to present a unified plan for the library, prompting speculation that the Obama Foundation would ultimately choose Columbia University in New York City or the University of Hawaii in Honolulu for the library's location.
But the financing and real estate plan have come together, officials said, and will be announced in Chicago in later this month.
Emanuel, who served as the first chief of staff in the Obama administration, made the presidential library a central part of his re-election bid to be mayor. Democratic lawmakers in Springfield have introduced legislation to give the city legal authority to have a private museum or library built on public lands.
The University of Hawaii in Honolulu, the city of Obama's birth, also had been a finalist. But the deck had long been stacked in favour of Chicago, his adopted hometown that fostered his political rise from state legislator to US senator to President.
The decision was reached by the Barack Obama Foundation, a group led by the President's longtime friend and Chicago businessman Marty Nesbitt. The President and First Lady Michelle Obama ultimately signed off on the decision, the report said.
Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States on November 4, 2008, and sworn in on January 20, 2009. He won a second four-year term in 2012 which will end in 2016.
The objectives of the Obama Foundation is to carry forward the Obamas' efforts to inspire active citizenship, expand economic opportunity, and promote peace and justice throughout the world.
"Our goal is to build a library of which the whole country, and hopefully the whole world, can be proud," said Nesbitt had said earlier.
"Our vision is to create a space that reflects President Obama's values and priorities throughout his career in public service and serves as force for good in the surrounding community and throughout our world," Nesbitt had said.
