The Supreme Court on Friday shot down an advocacy group’s push to temporarily halt construction of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in a Chicago park.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett, an appointee of former President Donald Trump who is assigned to handle matters from the Midwest, denied the petition for an injunction without referring the case to the full nine-member court.
The Chicago-based nonprofit Protect Our Parks and some residents argued that the $700 million library would cause “serious environmental impacts” to Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side.
They said in the petition that the “wanton act” will lead to the destruction of at least 800 trees, and that it will “have a significant impact on migratory birds and their nesting practices” and lead to more “dust, noise, and a decline in air quality, compromising public health in the surrounding community.”
“Once those trees are cut down, there is no turning back,” the group said.
