The president chose the University of Chicago over three other schools that were being considered: the University of Hawaii, New York’s Columbia University and the University of Illinois at Chicago, a public school that proposed building the library on Chicago’s West Side.
Obama’s library will be built on Chicago’s South Side, at one of the two sites the University of Chicago has proposed that are not far from the Obama family’s home. Officials are expected to make an official announcement within weeks.
The Barack Obama Foundation narrowed an initial list of about a dozen universities down to four schools to vie for the library. In recent months it became increasingly clear that the Obamas were leaning toward the University of Chicago, the elite private school where Obama taught law before becoming president.
