“We have zero tolerance for any form of bias or hate on our worksite,” the group said in an email. It added, “We are horrified that this would occur on our site.”
The Chicago Police Department is investigating the incident, spokesperson Sgt. Rocco Alioto said in an email. Representatives for former president Barack Obama could not immediately be reached late Thursday.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) condemned the incident, saying that “hate has no place” in the state.
“The noose is more than a symbol of racism, it is a heart-stopping reminder of the violence and terror inflicted on Black Americans for centuries,” he wrote on Twitter.
The space in the south side of Chicago will include a plaza, museum, library, playground and garden. The center will cost $830 million to construct, the Associated Press reported. The group first broke ground on the center in September 2021 and it is expected to be completed in 2025.
The project will be built in Jackson Park, a public space named after the former president Andrew Jackson, who was an enslaver. Ownership will ultimately transfer to the city.
Read More: Noose found at Obama Presidential Center construction site in Chicago
