Six previously unreported mechanics liens totaling nearly $1.5 million have been filed against the Obama Presidential Center property in Chicago, the latest sign that the billion-dollar project's payment problems are growing, not shrinking.

Three subcontractors that built Home Court, the Center's 60,000-square-foot basketball and events facility in Jackson Park, filed liens claiming they are owed a combined $900,000 for structural steel, excavation, concrete, and gymnasium flooring work. Fox News Digital reported that three additional liens, totaling roughly $557,000, were also identified against other portions of the campus, covering unpaid equipment rentals, union fringe benefits, and construction materials.

The filings were recorded around the time of the Center's June 19 grand opening but only recently became searchable online. The Cook County Clerk's Office told Fox News Digital that recorded documents typically take four to six weeks to appear in its online property records database, a processing lag that delayed public visibility of the claims.

Home Court's $900,000 tab lands on three firms

Area Erectors, a structural steel subcontractor, filed the largest of the Home Court liens, seeking nearly $620,000. CSI 3000, an excavation and concrete firm designated as a Minority Business Enterprise, claimed about $236,000. Floors Incorporated, a gymnasium flooring specialist, filed for nearly $25,000.

All three firms worked on Home Court under a separate construction contract managed by Elevate Design Builders, a joint venture led by minority-owned BOWA Construction. Elevate did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did the Obama Foundation, Area Erectors, CSI 3000, or Floors Incorporated.

Home Court sits at the southern end of the campus and features a regulation-size NBA basketball court, training space, and multipurpose rooms. Former President Barack Obama was photographed there on July 24, surprising WNBA All-Stars during practice ahead of the 2026 WNBA All-Star Weekend. The facility's basketball court is decorated with phrases associated with Obama, including "Yes we can" and "No one does big things alone."

That second phrase carries a certain weight when the subcontractors who helped build the place say they haven't been paid.

The Obama Presidential Center was initially estimated to cost roughly $350 million. The price tag has since ballooned past $1 billion. The Center's $470 million endowment fund, originally promoted as a financial safeguard, reportedly remains funded at roughly $1 million.

Three more liens target the main campus

Beyond Home Court, three other firms filed liens against portions of the project managed by Lakeside Alliance, the primary construction manager for most of the campus. O'Leary's Contractors Equipment & Supply claimed about $184,000 in allegedly unpaid equipment rental invoices. The Cement Masons' Union Trust Funds alleged more than $326,000 in unpaid fringe benefit contributions. And Intek Construction Products sought roughly $47,000 for labor and materials.

Jeffrey Molchan, Intek's owner, was the only lien claimant who spoke on the record. He told Fox News Digital:

"The project did not go as well as we anticipated in terms of the timeliness of the payment."

Molchan said Intek is still seeking payment on a final invoice from another contractor involved in the project. His $47,000 claim is modest compared to some of the other disputes, but for a small supplier, a stalled invoice is not a rounding error.

Lakeside Alliance issued a statement saying the Obama Presidential Center involved multiple structures, hundreds of trade partners and community businesses, and that contractual closeout continues after the Center's opening. The joint venture said it remains committed to working through outstanding matters. The statement did not address the specific lien amounts or name any of the claimants.

A pattern of unpaid bills, shuttered businesses, and bankruptcy filings

These six liens are not the first. They add to a pattern that has shadowed the project for months. At least four other companies filed mechanics liens during construction, and the disputes have already produced real casualties among small firms.

Adamson Plumbing, owned by Mike Owen, suspended operations and laid off 25 union workers amid a nearly $4 million payment dispute tied to the Center. Owen told reporters before the grand opening that the losses were unsurvivable for a small business. "That is a hole that no subcontractor, small business can survive," he said.

Two other subcontractors, Glass Management Services and Vision Painting & Decorating Services, sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Court records do not establish that the Obama Presidential Center caused those bankruptcies, but the firms were involved with the project.

The largest single claim came from Concrete Collective, which filed a mechanics lien for more than $40 million. That lien was replaced by a court-approved surety bond, a legal mechanism that substitutes a financial guarantee for the lien on the property, while the underlying dispute continues in court.

One unnamed lien claimant said it recovered the amount sought through its lien but still lost about $200,000 on the project overall. Two previously identified liens have been withdrawn. One remains unresolved.

Obama himself has remained a visible public figure throughout the disputes. He recently appeared on a podcast discussing his political legacy, and Michelle Obama praised him publicly at the Center's grand opening ceremony. Neither the former president nor the Obama Foundation has addressed the mounting subcontractor claims directly.

Minority contractors bear the brunt of a project built on inclusion promises

The payment disputes carry a particular sting given the project's stated mission. The Obama Presidential Center was promoted as a vehicle for uplifting minority contractors and the surrounding South Side community. CSI 3000, one of the three Home Court lien claimants, holds a Minority Business Enterprise designation. BOWA Construction, the minority-owned firm that led the Elevate joint venture managing Home Court's construction, has not commented.

Omar Shareef, president of the African American Contractors Association, framed the gap between promise and result bluntly. "The promise was that this project was going to uplift minority contractors and uplift the community," he told reporters.

The project has also faced separate legal challenges over contracting practices and diversity requirements, though details on those disputes remain limited.

Several questions remain unanswered. Which entity, the Obama Foundation, Elevate Design Builders, Lakeside Alliance, or some other party, bears legal responsibility for the Home Court payments? What is the total cumulative dollar amount of all mechanics liens, past and present, filed against the property? Has any payment been made to resolve the newly identified claims? None of the principals have offered answers.

The former president's public schedule has been full, podcasts, public appearances, WNBA events at the very facility these workers built. The subcontractors who poured the concrete, raised the steel, and laid the floors are still waiting for their checks.

A billion-dollar monument to hope and community ought to start by paying the people who built it.