State Representative Charlie Meier (R-Okawville) recently chief co-sponsored legislation (HR 627) opposing the use of an estimated $100 million in state tax dollars to fund the Obama Presidential Library in Illinois.
“Our hard earned tax dollars in southern Illinois should not be used to fund the Obama Presidential Library in Chicago,” said Rep. Meier. “Obama should be able to raise enough private funds without having to rely on state tax dollars to fund a library touting his eight years in office. I can’t and will not support a bill in the General Assembly that funds the Obama library.”
The last two Presidents of the United States have used private donations to build their libraries. No presidential libraries overseen by the National Archives and Records Administration have received direct funding from either the federal government or their respective states.
President Barack Obama concluded his second and final term as President of the United States of America on January 20, 2017, and has announced plans to build a presidential library and museum in Chicago. A recent legislative initiative proposes to allocate $100 million from Illinois capital spending funds for the construction of President Obama’s Presidential Library and Museum. This proposal comes at a time when the State’s budget condition continues to worsen and economic growth continues to lag behind national recovery trends.