Obama's presidential library will be built in Chicago -U.S. media

[May 01, 2015]  (Reuters) - Barack Obama's presidential library will be built in his hometown of Chicago, beating out proposals by New York City and Hawaii to host the facility, according to U.S. media reports on Thursday.

A proposal from the University of Chicago, where Obama was a law professor and near where he has a home on the city's South Side, is expected to be chosen by his foundation, NBC News said. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.

Obama grew up in Hawaii and attended Columbia University in New York as an undergraduate.

In March, Chicago City Council, hoping to boost the chances of landing the library, unanimously approved the use of land in two parks near the president's home.

The land is near the University of Chicago and would be transferred if the school's bid for the presidential library is accepted. Obama taught at the university before his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004.

The University of Illinois at Chicago also had a proposal for the library, which did not require a land transfer.

It was not immediately clear which University of Chicago parcel had been chosen by the foundation, although the local ABC affiliate, WLS-TV, reported it would be built on the South Side of the city near the university.

Obama, a Democrat, is due to leave office in January 2017 after two terms in the White House. His supporters launched the foundation in January 2014 to plan the library's construction.

Representatives for the foundation and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Obama's former chief of staff, could not be reached for comment on Thursday evening.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Eric Beech and Peter Cooney)

[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.