On Nov. 4, 2008, hundreds of thousands of Americans gathered near the shores of Lake Michigan to watch Barack Obama, Chicago’s favorite son, thank his supporters for helping him become the first African-American president of the United States. Maybe you were there, or perhaps you watched on television. The mood was electric that night, though tinged with concern about the scope of the challenges this new leader soon would face.

Almost a decade later, our city and state have developed a plan for a more enduring commemoration on the lakefront, working hand in hand with now former-President Obama and the foundation that bears his name. Jackson Park would host the Obama Presidential Center, a museum and library that will house mementos and informative displays commemorating a historic presidency. On Oct. 11, the Chicago City Council’s Committee on Housing and Real Estate unanimously approved a proposed ordinance to greenlight the center. Yet a lawsuit by Protect Our Parks threatens to halt construction before it starts.

The lawsuit’s central claim is that the public trust doctrine prevents the city from permitting the construction of the presidential center on the lakefront. It’s a weak argument. For 16 years I have taught and written about real estate law as a professor at the University of Chicago. The public trust doctrine is a subject I have always relished teaching my students about, in part because that doctrine and Chicago’s history are so intertwined. After all, the United States Supreme Court invoked the doctrine to spare our lakefront after corrupt state legislators sold it off to a private railroad company in 1869. The Supreme Court voided the arrangement because it did not serve the public’s interest. The question now before the courts is whether the Obama Presidential Center deserves the same fate.

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