A Chicago-based general contractor part of the Obama Presidential Centers construction team has filed a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination against Thornton Tomasetti, the office providing structural engineering and protective design services for the high-profile project. II in One Concrete, a subcontractor responsible for laying concrete, is suing Thornton Tomasetti for $40 million. The plaintiff is a minority-owned company thats been in business for more than 40 years. II in One Concrete is arguing that Thornton Tomasetti blamedproject delays and cost overruns as the fault of minority-owned firms.Owners of II in One Concrete, including Robert McGee, claim that actions taken by Thornton Tomasetti have put the minority-owned business on the verge of bankruptcy. McGee and co-owner Oliver Fifer were the victims of racial animus by the defendant, Thornton Tomasetti, the lawsuit said. Both McGee and Fifer are part of Concrete Collective, a joint venture on the project which includes multiple subsidiaries and companies.The lawsuit alleges that Thornton Tomasetti tried to cover up its own performance failures when employees of that company sent a letter to The Obama Foundation indicating that project delays and cost overruns happened thanks to underperformance and inexperience of the concrete sub-contractor. The engineering firm also allegedly said that the contractor and subcontractor firms that were not minority owned could have completed the work without problems.In essence, the lawsuit continues, the defendants told the project owner, falsely, that all of the project delays and cost overruns were the fault of the minority-owned firms, and that more qualified firms (such as the firms that happen not to be owned by racial minorities) would not have required as much assistance or had as many problems. [Parenthesis in original.]Unjustified and Discriminatory ConductThe plaintiffs claim that Thornton Tomasettis conduct is out of step with the projects Diversity and Inclusion Plan, a facet, the lawsuit said, that emphasizes maintaining an environment in which diversity and inclusion are valued and respected in all aspects of its operations as well as the operations of its partners and third-party contractors.The lawsuit singled out Scott Schneider, a co-leader of Thornton Tomasettis Structural Engineering Practice. It claims that Schneider subjected the Plaintiffs to unjustified and discriminatory conduct which directly undermined the Obama Foundations DEI goals and commitments and mission to bring transformative change to the construction industry and local community by providing solutions to barriers that have historically prevented disadvantaged businesses from participating on projects of this magnitude. In the lawsuit, the plaintiff raised II in One Concretes demonstrated experience finishing projects in the Chicago area to a high degree of quality for several decades; the plaintiff dismissed Thornton Tomasettis argument that II in One Concrete had provided subpar services at The Obama Presidential Center, which Thornton Tomasetti alleges led to delays and budgetary issues.In a shocking and disheartening turn of events, the African American owner of a local construction company finds himself and his company on the brink of forced closure because of racial discrimination by the structural engineer of record (Thornton Tomasetti) for the construction of The Obama Presidential Center, the lawsuit said. [Parenthesis in original.]The lawsuit continues that II in One Concrete was subjected to baseless criticisms and defamatory and discriminatory accusations by the Obama Foundations structural engineer, Thornton Tomasetti. It also claims that statements made by Thornton Tomasetti employees came as a shock to II in One and its Owner, Robert J. McGee, Jr., who remains proud of his companys work on a Project intended to honor the legacy of the United States first African American President. Emily Bittner, The Obama Foundations vice president of communications, told AN that if the Foundation believed that any vendor was acting with a racist intent, we would immediately take appropriate action. We have no reason to believe that Thornton Tomasetti acted with racist intent.Bittner added, The Obama Foundation is not a party to this lawsuit, nor will it cause any delays in the concrete work, which has already been largely completed.A spokesperson for Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects (TWBTA), the project designer, said TWBTA has no comment at this time.AN has reached out to Thornton Tomasetti for comment.