Former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden plan to attend Thursday’s dedication ceremony celebrating the opening of former President Barack Obama’s Presidential Center in Jackson Park, according to a source with direct knowledge of the event’s planning.
The three presidents, along with former first ladies Laura Bush, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Jill Biden are also expected to attend the ceremony with former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama at the center’s John Lewis Plaza.
The ceremony begins at 11 a.m. Thursday. The center officially opens to the public on Friday, Juneteenth. The Obama Foundation did not respond to requests for comment about the presidential guest list.
President Donald Trump, a frequent Obama critic, was not invited to Thursday’s ceremony.
The grand opening is slated to feature Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen and Common. Among the rest of the star-studded lineup tasked with bringing “music, performances, and hope,” are Eddie Vedder, the Roots, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Marc Anthony, Tems, U2’s Bono and The Edge and actress and producer Marsai Martin.
The A-list crowd will mean heavy security, which the U.S. Secret Service likened to a smaller scale security plan similar to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 2024. The Secret Service has been planning the center’s dedication ceremony for about six months, partnering with the city of Chicago, the Chicago Police Department, the Chicago Fire Department, Illinois State Police and the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
“There will be anti-scale fencing, vehicle checkpoints, magnetometers. We’re going to have tactical assets there, some that are going to be publicly visible and some that won’t,” said James Morley, acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service Chicago Field Office. “We’ll have drone support for overwatch, and there’s going to be a temporary flight restriction in place that’s going to restrict aircraft, as well as drones over the Obama Presidential Center.”
Thousands are expected to attend a ticketed watch party on the Midway Plaisance, which opens at 9 a.m. Thousands are also anticipated at the dedication ceremony.
“The public could expect former presidents and former first ladies, world leaders. There’s going to be congressional members there, governors and mayors and then public figures. Celebrities will be there,” Morley said.
Morley said there are some concerns about Wednesday’s stormy weather affecting high-profile arrivals, as well additional support that is coming in from the Secret Service.
“[There are] probably people that are going to have some delays getting in today that are supporting the event. So, a little concerned,” Morley said. “Hopefully tomorrow’s weather is much better.”
Despite the warm camaraderie the four presidents and first ladies have typically had in public, the dedication ceremony comes two days after Hillary Clinton told The New Yorker’s editor David Remnick at a Manhattan event that then-President Biden should have decided to “pass the torch,” and said “whoever emerged from that contest, whether it was the vice president, or a governor, or a senator or anybody else, would have beaten Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton also said the former president made a “terrible mistake for himself, his legacy and for the country” in deciding to run again at age 81.
Former Presidents Obama, Clinton and Biden attended Rev. Jesse Jackson’s funeral services in Chicago in March. Jill Biden, Hillary Clinton and former Vice President Kamala Harris also attended.