(CNN) A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit that tried to prevent construction of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Chicago's South Side, saying that construction should begin immediately. Environmentalists brought the lawsuit against the city of Chicago for the offering of public land for the private project, which former President Barack Obama announced in 2015. Democratic lawmakers in Springfield previously introduced legislation to give the city legal authority to have a private museum or library built on public lands. "This case is important, but it is not a difficult case," US District Judge John Blakey said in making his ruling to dismiss it. The center will also provide space for collaborations with Obama's famous friends, including "a studio where I can invite Spike Lee or Stephen Spielberg to come and do workshops on how to make films around the stories that young activists are working on," the former President said in May 2017.

Source: CNN June 11, 2019 19:30 UTC