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-Lurid Crime Tales-

Obama's Post-Presidency Library Grift Re-defines Brazen Payoff Scheme

2026-03-12

[PJMedia] The scandal-plagued Obama Presidential Center in Chicago already stirred up plenty of controversy. Now the money trail surrounding it raises even more uncomfortable questions about how former President Barack Obama’s inner circle is cashing in while taxpayers get screwed over.

I’d be just as happy if the thing runs out of money before it opens, as looks likely to happen to plans for a Biden presidential library.

New federal tax filings reveal the staggering salaries flowing through the Obama Foundation as construction of the $850 million Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park nears completion. The foundation will operate the massive 19.3-acre campus, which sits on publicly owned Chicago parkland. The project includes a museum, an athletic center, and a public library branch. It will not operate as a traditional presidential library overseen by the National Archives.

The land it sits on is a big part of the scheme. The Obama Foundation secured a 99-year agreement with the city, under which the foundation pays just $10 per year to use the plot. That deal alone costs Chicago tens of millions of dollars in potential value while handing over prime public property to a private nonprofit run by a former president.

With such a sweet deal in place, the foundation has been able to pay its officers inflated salaries, the most eye‑popping of which is paid to Valerie Jarrett, one of Obama’s closest political confidantes. Jarrett “earned” $740,000 in 2024 as CEO of the Obama Foundation. That salary easily outpaces the compensation paid to leaders at several other presidential foundations.

And she’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Six of the foundation’s 10 highest-paid executives previously held senior roles in the Obama administration or campaign. David Simas, Obama’s former White House political director, earned up to $626,000 annually while leading the foundation from 2017 through 2020. Adewale Adeyemo, another senior Obama official who later became deputy Treasury secretary under Joe Biden, earned about $540,000 as the foundation’s first president.

The list keeps going. Anne Filipic, a former White House public engagement official, earned roughly $400,000 annually. Christina Tchen, former chief of staff to Michelle Obama, also pulled in roughly $400,000 a year. Michael Strautmanis, another Obama campaign and White House aide, earned more than $300,000 annually.

Compensation across the organization has ballooned. Salaries and benefits climbed from $18.5 million in 2018 to $43.7 million in 2024. Staffing expanded to 337 employees.

Illinois Republicans smell the stench of classic Chicago corruption.

Of course.

"Illinois Democrats are truly living their best lives — making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to help design the ugliest building in Chicago," Illinois GOP Chairman Kathy Salvi said. Though, to be fair, it might be the ugliest building in the country. "Their jaw-dropping salaries prove that Illinois’ culture of corruption is alive and well as Barack Obama’s top allies rake in the cash.”

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