Obama Center subcontractor shuts down, lays off nearly 30

Weeks after the star-studded opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, a subcontractor who previously claimed his company was fined nearly $4 million ceased operations and fired 25 union workers.

Mike Owen, owner of Chicago-based Adamson Plumbing Contractors, told Fox News Digital that the financial crisis forced the company to abandon about a half-dozen other construction jobs and brought the company to the brink of collapse. Owen described the closure as a painful decision that he believed was necessary to save the company from bankruptcy.

“Laying off nearly 30 people is something no business owner in our industry wants to do,” Owen said. “It’s a tough thing to do, especially when you know you can get these things done and the company still make money. But we’re backed into a pretty bad corner.”

SUBCONTRACTORS SAY THEY HAVE MILLIONS IN DEBT AND FACED FINANCIAL COLLAPSE AFTER HELPING BUILD THE OBAMA PRESIDENT CENTER.

Adamson, who operates the center under the name Marsh-Adamson, has since turned the payment dispute into a legal fight by filing a $1.72 million mechanic’s lien against the property.

The company is one of several subcontractors to report financial distress after working at the center, which was promoted as a transformative economic opportunity for small and minority-owned businesses.

A previous Fox News Digital investigation had identified several subcontractors, including black-owned firms the project specifically aims to support, who said they were owed money or covered for damages ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars to millions. The biggest dispute involves Concrete Collective, which is seeking additional payments of more than $40 million.

‘The last death blow’

Before the center opened, Owen said the project left his company facing a $3.9 million loss due to delays, rework, workforce overruns and changing project demands. He said he spent months negotiating with Lakeside Alliance, the project’s construction manager, before going public after failing to reach a solution.

Against the backdrop of this larger disagreement, the tipping point came during the opening celebration of the Obama Presidential Center, Owen said.

Owen said Adamson and the Lakeside Alliance reached an agreement in which Adamson would provide two journeyman plumbers to perform last-minute “cleanup” jobs on campus at premium night rates.

In return, Adamson should receive some of his outstanding pay days before the center opens June 19, Owen said. An email reviewed by Fox News Digital shows a Lakeside representative told Owen that $100,000 would be released through Adamson’s May payment application.

The Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side will open this week. (Fox Flight Crew)

Adamson completed the requested work, but payment did not arrive on time, Owen said, which was the breaking point for the company and left him no choice but to suspend operations on June 25.

“We negotiated in good faith,” he said. “Against my better judgment, I agreed [to do the work]”

“Not being able to get that huge amount of money put the brakes on the train. It was just the final death blow to the company,” he added. “Instead of dragging it out and going bankrupt, I decided the responsible thing to do was to shut it down. We’ll pick it back up and see where we’re at in September.”

Owen said the promised $100,000 deposit payment and about $35,000 in change order payments came from Lakeside Alliance more than two weeks after it suspended operations and laid off 25 workers.

Owen said the money helped reduce the company’s debt to a supplier but did not reverse the shutdown.

“It’s almost too little, too late,” Owen said. “It probably would have prolonged the inevitable at this point,” he said. “We’re still deep in the hole they owe us.”

Owen said Adamson has now moved out of the building and is working from home while he turns the dispute over to his lawyers and decides whether the company has a future.

THE OBAMA CENTER IS NOT A TRADITIONAL PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY. CRITICS SAY THIS IS A CENTER OF ACTIVISM.

Former President Barack Obama speaks at the opening day of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Illinois, on June 18, 2026. (Pedro Ugarte/AFP via Getty Images)

Legal war begins

Owen escalates fight for nearly $4 million payment.

Documents reviewed by Fox News Digital show Marsh-Adamson filed a $1.72 million lien against the Obama Presidential Center property, claiming she was owed money for plumbing work done on campus. A mechanic’s lien is a legal claim filed against a property by a contractor or supplier alleging failure to pay in full for work completed.

The lien is considerably less than the approximately $3.9 million Owen said Adamson lost over the course of the project. Owen said the lien covers amounts he believes are most easily documented, including unpaid wages, recorded change orders and labor overruns supported by company records.

“That doesn’t mean I’m not going to pursue the $3.9 million in change that we lost overall,” Owen said. “I’m still working on that $3.9 million figure with my legal team because I think it’s right that we still hold the presidential headquarters property accountable.”

Construction equipment is seen in front of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago ahead of the campus opening. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)

Owen said he initially refrained from filing a lawsuit or foreclosing while trying to negotiate a solution.

“I’m not a combative person, but at the same time, our legal system is there to protect the little guy,” Owen said. “I will have to fight this legally from now on and these are not cheap costs.”

He said last week’s payment would be reduced from $1.72 million.

Lakeside Alliance, a joint venture led by Turner Construction and four black-owned Chicago construction firms, served as construction manager for the project. Other companies are UJAMAA Construction, Powers & Sons Construction, Brown & Momen and Safeway Construction.

Lakeside said in a previous statement that approximately 475 contractors were working at the center. In its latest response, the alliance noted the scale of the project and said that on major projects of such complexity “contract expiry will continue even after the doors are opened.”

“Lakeside Alliance remains committed to working on all key issues to successfully complete the project,” a spokesperson said. Lakeside Alliance did not directly address Owen’s allegations, the layoffs or the $1.72 million mortgage.

WATCH: Subcontractor says his company is owed nearly $4 million for work on Obama Center project

The Obama Foundation, former President Barack Obama’s private nonprofit organization that oversaw construction, said Lakeside was responsible for managing and paying subcontractors and that the foundation had no disputed charges with the alliance.

While the foundation did not directly address Adamson’s allegations, it said its financial support to companies working on the project exceeded industry standards.

“Our commitment began with a 15-day payment cycle, which is mostly unheard of on major construction projects,” the foundation said in a statement. he said, adding that he sometimes accelerates payment deadlines or prepayments months before the job is completed.

The center has also faced scrutiny over its rising price tag and promised protections for taxpayers. Construction costs, initially projected at around $350 million, reportedly rose to $830 million by 2021 and have since surpassed $1 billion.

Meanwhile, only $1 million has been deposited into the $470 million reserve intended to protect Chicago taxpayers in case the center runs into financial trouble.

These questions have come under increased scrutiny since the Obama Foundation secured the 19.3-acre Jackson Park site through a 99-year lease requiring a one-time payment of $10.

‘They don’t care’

Owen said the ordeal left him financially and emotionally drained and unsure of whether to restart Adamson Plumbing.

“This whole process has really drained me financially and emotionally,” Owen said. “That’s where I’m at, kind of in a holding pattern.”

Owen said the opening ceremony, which featured performances by Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera, John Legend and U2’s Bono and The Edge, among others, further fueled his anger. Against this backdrop of celebration, he said, the struggles of the workers who built the center went largely unnoticed.

Chicago’s proud culture of protest is clearly absent, Owen argued, and reactions would be quite different if the project were associated with figures such as Elon Musk or Chicago billionaire Ken Griffin, whose name adorns the neighboring Griffin Museum of Science and Industry.

“He’s got hell to pay,” Owen said. “They were going to keep watch. They were going to attack the castle.”

Stevie Wonder, Common, Bruce Springsteen and Eddie Vedder, accompanied by The Roots, perform at the Obama Presidential Center dedication ceremony in Chicago on June 18, 2026. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Owen also singled out Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, questioning why the pro-union governor had not addressed layoffs or pay disputes.

“But he hasn’t said anything publicly about union companies getting tough on the presidential headquarters,” Owen said. “And that bothers me.”

Pritzker’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Owen said he does not accuse former President Barack Obama of personal responsibility, but believes the foundation should publicly acknowledge the subcontractors’ complaints and help find solutions.

“It became completely clear to me that the ownership group there really didn’t care,” he said. “I don’t know any other way to say this.”

Owen said the contractors hope their disputes will be resolved once construction is completed.

“But I think most of us, the main subcontractors, had a feeling that eventually this was going to get resolved — until it wasn’t,” he said.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION

Now, with Adamson’s future uncertain, Owen said the project has presented him with a personal change he never expected.

“I mean, the only leverage I have right now is to keep talking and see where it goes,” he said. “But my career – it’s funny – I’ll have to go get a job, which is good. I just didn’t realize the completion of this project would come to this.”

WATCH: Black subcontractors at Obama Presidential Center still want payment as June opening approaches, lawyer says