America’s most expensive presidential library ‘isn’t a cheap date.’
Grandstanding Democrats fiercely opposed to the anti-election-fraud SAVE America Act perhaps consider showing a government-issued photo ID to vote a metaphorical equivalent to undergoing root canal or waterboarding.
However, Illinois residents planning to visit the long-delayed Obama Presidential Center for free or on a reduced rate after it opens in about two months in crime-afflicted, Democrat-controlled Chicago need to bring identification to prove they actually still live in the state.
Otherwise, local museumgoers, along with out-of-state attendees, might experience some degree of sticker shock over the price of an admission ticket.
“So, when it comes to Obama profiting, ID is not racist,” Breitbart News senior writer John Nolte quipped.
In an article headlined “The Obama Presidential Center is finally here. Prepare to pay up,” the Wall Street Journal explains:
“Barack Obama’s new presidential center isn’t a cheap date, and neither is his adopted hometown. When it opens June 19, it will set at least three modern-era records for a former White House occupant: time taken to be completed, project cost and the price to get inside. At $30, adult admission to see the 44th president’s story is more than at any other U.S. presidential library, a Wall Street Journal review shows. That is 59% higher than the average for presidents from John F. Kennedy through George W. Bush…”
As alluded to above, locals — but apparently no one else — can get a break, under one condition, that is, the WSJ detailed:
“Illinois residents, who helped underwrite some infrastructure costs, will get in free on Tuesdays and receive a $4 discount other days. They must show proof of residency, which conservatives say is hypocritical given Democratic opposition to voter ID requirements.”
To qualify for this geographical perk, the Obama Presidential Center website says that Illinois residents “must be able to provide proof of residency. Be prepared to show proof of residency at the Museum with a valid photo ID, Illinois driver’s license, state ID, or city-issued ID.”
The Obama Center, which has been derided as an architectural eyesore, ended up costing about three times the original projections, and prompted criticism for its bloated budget from President Donald Trump, an experienced real estate developer.
NEW: President Trump says his presidential library in Miami, Florida, will be a hotel, calls President Obama's library "very unattractive."
"I don't believe in building libraries or museums."
"Like the Barack Hussein Obama one in Chicago… in not a good location and it's a… pic.twitter.com/iwxFW770xJ
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 31, 2026
“While the Obama project was initially estimated at $300 million, the final price tag hit about $850 million. The 19.3-acre campus includes a museum, foundation offices, a public library and recreational spaces. That makes it the nation’s most expensive,” the WSJ recalled. “More than $500 million was raised for the most recently built presidential shrine, the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas.”
Reacting to the Journal’s reporting on the Obama Foundation-led project, Breitbart’s Nolte further opined that “this monstrosity sits on 9.5 acres of prime Chicago land and looks like that temple in The Time Machine that the Eloi mindlessly enter so the Morlocks can eat them.”
More from the WSJ:
“Visitors will also face other high costs in Chicago, a city that President Trump, who is planning a library in Miami featuring a glass tower emblazoned with his name, has long criticized as a Democrat-ruined hellscape…The Obama center’s opening is roughly five years behind what was originally planned after preservationists and activists slowed construction in court..”
As quoted by the WSJ, an Obama spokesperson insisted that “our campus is free and open to the public, with the exception of the four floors of the museum.”
It’s also generally common for some museums to offer free-admission days, albeit perhaps without residency checks.
The Journal also asserted that “The center is expected to attract approximately 700,000 visitors annually and be an economic engine for the city, while also potentially helping transform the surrounding lower-income neighborhood.”
Parenthetically, this optimistic claim is reminiscent of how advocates sometimes argue for a new sports stadium especially when a structure is at least partially taxpayer funded.
In January 2026, the Illinois Review reported the following about the Obama Center:
‘Construction and operations, Obama assured the public, would be paid for by private donors through the Obama Foundation. But while the building itself may be privately funded, Illinois taxpayers are already paying a steep price to support the project. State and city records show that approximately $175 million in taxpayer-funded infrastructure improvements have been approved around the site in Jackson Park…”
Nolte is skeptical about the Obama Center’s prospects: “My guess is that after the initial excitement, that $30 price tag combined with all the cost and hassle involved in driving and parking in Chicago will slow traffic considerably. That leaves an awfully expensive infrastructure to maintain.”
If enacted, the aforementioned SAVE America Act, among other provisions, would establish a nationwide photo ID requirement when voting.
This is hardly the first time that Democrats from Obama on down have been called out for their photo ID hypocrisy, most recently, e.g., when U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D – Ga.) required an ID to enter a political rally.
As of this writing, however. U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R – S.D.) has yet to evince any willingness to implement the parliamentary procedures necessary to pass the SAVE America Act.
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