Obama's $850m library faces fresh fury as black contractors say they STILL haven't been paid and critics slam building as 'anti-Christian'

By LAUREN ACTON-TAYLOR, US NEWS REPORTER Published: 22:14, 16 June 2026 | Updated: 22:26, 16 June 2026 Former President Barack Obama's $850 million presidential library in Chicago has been plunged into a fresh controversy as contractors say they still haven't been paid just days before its grand opening. African American Contractors Association president Omar Shareef said seven workers contacted him to complaint about missed payments, Front Page Mag reports.  'It's to the point that they wished they had never done [the project],' Shareef told the outlet.  Some subcontractors are missing as much as seven figures in payment, and many are feeling the pressure of keeping their businesses afloat.  The 225-foot tall library dubbed the 'Obamalisk' is also facing backlash from critics who have branded its design 'anti-Christian.' Pastor and author Todd Friel said the center's design is an 'intentional slight to God.'  The library is due to open with live performances, activities, food and art on Friday and is several hundred million dollars over its initial $300 million budget. Much of the delay and rise in cost was pinned on the pandemic, but the ongoing spat with contractors has been largely public for many months.  A $40 million federal lawsuit emerged between Thornton Tomasetti and one of the subcontractors involved in the project, as Tomasetti was accused of making false claims and racial discrimination, the Real Deal reported.  Obama's Presidential Library, standing 225-foot tall, is set to have its grand opening with live performances, activities, food and art on Friday The center, which ballooned over its original cost estimation of $300 million to $850 million, has faced mounting backlash as contractors claim that their invoices are going unpaid African American Contractors Association President Omar Shareef told Crain's Chicago Business that seven separate subcontractors have contacted him for help securing missing payments from the project Lakeside Alliance, the general contractor for Obama's library, said tensions such as these are normal due to the size and number of moving parts involved in the project.  In a statement to the Real Deal, Lakeside Alliance said that the Obama Center's 'contractual closeout - including the review and resolution of outstanding invoices, change orders and other project matters - continues long after the doors open.' According to Fox News, Illinois GOP Chair Robert Grogan said: 'One of their core promises was they were supposed to create an endowment as basically an insurance policy so the taxpayers wouldn't get stuck with the bill.' 'They promised hundreds of millions of dollars for it. It's still sitting at the $1 million mark [where it stood] when they opened it up. So I don't believe that they've kept that promise. 'The fact that they have created this probably unsustainable edifice to an ego and then, eventually, if it goes under, who's going to be caught with the bill time and time again? It's the taxpayers of the city, citizens of Chicago and the state of Illinois.' Adamson Plumbing President Mike Owen showed the outlet that, according to company spreadsheets, the firm is nearly $4 million in the red due to unnecessary rework, delays and over 100 change-order requests resulting in additional costs.  The Obama Foundation told Fox that it is in compliance with its agreement with the city, which required the creation of an endowment but not a specific dollar amount.  'On the eve of our Grand Opening celebrations, we are pleased to reiterate that the Obama Presidential Center is fully funded with generous private contributions,' the foundation said in a statemen to the outlet.  In a statement to the Real Deal, Lakeside Alliance said that the Obama Center's 'contractual closeout - including the review and resolution of outstanding invoices, change orders and other project matters - continues long after the doors open' The Obama Foundation told Fox that it is in compliance with its agreement with the city, which required the creation of an endowment but not a specific dollar amount Some subcontractors are missing as much as seven figures in payment, and many are feeling the pressure of keeping their businesses afloat. Much of the delay and rise in cost was pinned on the pandemic However, the library has not only faced backlash over subcontractors legal disputes but it has been the center of criticism from a right-wing pastor.  Todd Friel, a pastor for Alpharetta Bible Church in Georgia who also hosts the show Wretched, slammed the library last week for its 'anti-Christian' concrete exterior.  Friel described the design, dubbed 'Obamalisk,' as 'downright ugly' and noted comparisons to a Klingon prison or the Death Star from Star Wars.  'It looks like a World War II-era German anti-aircraft tower,' he said on his June 9 show.  'It belongs in the Hunger Games. It was designed by Minecraft. In other words, the thing is downright ugly.' Friel went on to say that the design, which was reportedly influenced by Obama himself, emulates 'anti-Christian' aesthetics.  'His new presidential center, I think, can be described as atheistic, anti-Christian, Marxist, and just another effort from Barack Obama to do what he's been endeavoring to do now since he was nominated president, and that is to fundamentally change America,' Friel said.  The pastor also claimed that he believes the building to be a 'tangible symbol' of the former president's 'utterly destructive worldviews' and an 'intentional slight to God.' Todd Friel, a pastor for Alpharetta Bible Church in Georgia who also hosts the show Wretched, slammed the library last week for its 'anti-Christian' concrete exterior The pastor claimed that he believes the building to be a 'tangible symbol' of the former president's 'utterly destructive worldviews' and an 'intentional slight to God' Friel argued that Obama's design aligned with deconstructivism, which he described as 'atheistic with a healthy heaping of post-modernism' and tied to Marxist ideology 'You don't walk into a building and decide what it means; the building decides what it wants you to feel about reality,' he continued.  'Why? Because buildings preach, and the Obama Center is a really lousy sermon.' Friel noted several architectural philosophies, including the tradition rooted in Greco-Roman ideals which were Christianized later to allegedly reflect truth and beauty.  He went on to note that deconstructivism, which draws from postmodern ideals and rejects those notions. The concept in architecture emerged largely in the 1980s, and was seen to break away from traditional notions of order and symmetry, instead looking to represent the unpredictable nature of modern life.  Deconstructivism was influenced by the philosophy of deconstruction, which suggests meaning and knowledge are not fixed but open to interpretation.  Friel argued that Obama's design aligned with deconstructivism, which he described as 'atheistic with a healthy heaping of post-modernism' and tied to Marxist ideology.  'Traditional architecture affirmed order. Deconstructivism destabilizes it,' Friel said.  'He doesn't speak with his lips. He speaks with architecture. And what he is saying is as odious as ever.' The pastor went on to argue that Obama's library was a visual representation of, 'I hate this America. I hate tradition. And I reject God's ordering of reality.' The Daily Mail reached out to the Office of Barack and Michelle Obama, the Obama Foundation, the African American Contractors Association and the Alpharetta Bible Church for comment.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. 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