Jackson Park chosen for Obama's presidential library, source says

CHICAGO (WLS) -- President Obama will pick Chicago's Jackson Park as the site of his presidential library, according to an ABC News source familiar with the selection process.

Jackson Park is near the University of Chicago, where Obama once taught constitutional law. The library is expected to be a boon to nearby communities struggling with gang violence and unemployment.

"I think it's wonderful thing for the children of Chicago, having the presidential library in Jackson Park," said Louise McCurry, Jackson Park Advisory Council.

Chicago won the bidding when the President and First Lady decided their hometown would be the right place to house the president's memorabilia and host cultural programming, but the exact location wasn't known until now.

Nearby Washington Park was also being considered, but it appears the 500-acre Jackson Park is the choice. The park runs south from the Museum of Science and Industry to 63rd Street and from Stony Island Avenue east to the lakefront.

The park is dotted by athletic fields and boasts the serene Japanese Garden. Currently, an ecological restoration project is underway around the Wooded Island. All of it will be next door to the Presidential Center.

"There's no place around quite as wonderful as Jackson Park for families. And people from all over the world come here to the museum, it will just be one more stop on their vacation trip," McCurry said. "It really is the best of all ways to teach children how you become president of the United States."

Last month, the Barack Obama Foundation announced that Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects had been chosen to lead the project.

The presidential library is expected to be completed by 2021.