Construction of the Obama Presidential Center has been temporarily suspended as of Nov. 10 after a noose was found on the Chicago worksite. The Obama Foundation condemned the incident as a “shameless act of cowardice and hate.”

Lakeside Alliance, the construction company working on the project, were “horrified that this would occur on our site,” and reported the incident to police, who are currently investigating.

According to a police source who spoke to NBC Chicago, the noose was found in the stairwell of the construction site, which isn’t monitored by surveillance cameras.

The Obama Foundation wrote in a statement to NBC that the incident was “designed to get attention and divide us.”

The construction company is offering a US$100,000 reward for anyone who has information about the incident. Lakeside Alliance said it will also conduct another series of anti-bias training with its employees.

“We have zero tolerance for any form of bias or hate on our worksite,” the company wrote in a statement provided to NBC. “Lakeside Alliance remains committed to providing a work environment where everyone can feel safe, be their best self, and is treated with dignity and respect.”

The Obama Presidential Center was first announced in 2015 — part of a presidential library system that has been ongoing since the Hoover administration. Presidential libraries are typically erected in a former president’s home state, but Barack Obama chose the south side of Chicago for his library because that was where his political career was born — and also where he met his wife Michelle.

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