Mr. President...The vision for the center morphed from a presidential library, privately funded, to something very different. Your foundation's request for proposals in 2014 explicitly described a presidential library and contained nothing about state funding. "Construction and maintenance will be funded by private donations, and no taxpayer money will go to the foundation," the foundation's spokeswoman said, and the interpretation was that you and your wife assured 100 percent private funding.
It turns out, however, that the center will not be a presidential library because your archives and documents will not be there. Since what's left without the library is unquestionably political, at least in large part, funding should not be forced on taxpayers...
The notion of state funding came out of nowhere last year when Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan suggested perhaps $100 million...
Because it's for roadways, much of the state money will be reimbursed by the federal government, but that's no consolation. Taxpayers outside Illinois, who won't benefit from any economic impact, have even more reason to object than Illinoisans...
