Since the late 2000s, Trump International Hotel and Tower Chicago has towered over the Chicago River, its massive sign with 20-foot-tall letters looming over the water below. Now, the nation’s seventh-tallest building could be getting an address change.
That’s if people currently putting their digital signature on a Change.org petition are successful. As of Wednesday afternoon, the petition aiming to change the name of Wabash Avenue to Barack Hussein Obama Avenue had 23,844 of those signatures.
Trump Tower is located at 401 N. Wabash in Chicago’s River North area. Wabash isn’t named after any particular person; the word has Native American roots, and it’s also the name of a river that flows in the Midwest.
Though former President Obama, a Democrat, was born in Hawaii, he has strong ties to Chicago. He lived and worked there for many years, met his wife Michelle (a Chicago native) in the Windy City and he served as a senator for Illinois before his two terms in the White House. When Obama won the 2008 presidential election, he held his historic presidential night rally in Chicago’s Grant Park, and this month his presidential library opens on the city’s South Side.
On the other hand, current Republican President Donald Trump, the real estate developer behind Trump International Hotel and Tower Chicago, is a former New Yorker and, more recently, a Florida resident. In the past, he’s called Chicago a “hellhole” and has criticized Chicago-native Pope Leo XIV. Trump also has a long history of attacking Obama, from his comment that the former president should be arrested for treason to sharing a video on social media that depicted the Obamas as apes.
“For many of us living on the southwest side of Chicago, the daily challenges we face are growing,” said Bryce Jones, the starter of the Change.org petition. “We are grappling with increased living costs and punitive policies. Under the current administration, I, like many others, felt the harsh realities of life under stringent immigration policies, with [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] ICE raids affecting our community deeply. And now, with rising gas prices because of a failed vanity war, making ends meet is more challenging than ever. We propose to launch a winning vanity war.”
In late February, Trump announced that the U.S. had joined Israel to attack Iran. Though the U.S. and Iran have reportedly come to a peace agreement, conflict dragged on for months and resulted in the average price per-gallon for gas in the U.S. to shoot over $4, where it remained Wednesday, based on AAA data. Going forward Iran has also hinted at plans to charge fees at the Strait of Hormuz, an important oil transportation route, which could lead to increased gas prices in the future.
“We propose a tribute to a figure who stands for hope and change, Barack Hussein Obama,” said Jones, referring to Obama’s 2008 campaign slogan. “By renaming Wabash Ave in Chicago to Barack Hussein Obama Ave, we would honor him at the time of his presidential center’s opening. This move resonates with hope and progress, uniting us in the pursuit of a brighter tomorrow.”
This isn’t the first petition that’s proposed changing the name of Wabash to honor Obama. Back in 2019, a MoveOn.org petition was started for the same purpose. It proposed naming just the portion of the roadway between the north bank of the Chicago River and Kinzie St. to President Barack Obama Ave. That petition had 12,841 signatures as of Wednesday afternoon, under its 15,000 goal.
According to the new petition, renaming the street “carries symbolic weight, as it alters the official address of Trump Tower to Obama Ave.,” a move that Jones would “send a small message about the values we uphold as a city, those of inclusivity, resilience, and forward-thinking change, and fighting back in any way possible.”
Petitioners are calling on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and members of the City Council to seriously consider the proposal. More information about the petition is available here.
