Chicagoans DO U WANT THE 2016 Olympics? (Wheaton, Madison: rent, condo, buy)

[slim04]

Originally Posted by via chicago

The answer to why Chicagoans are so hesitant is simple: a lack of trust.

It also comes down to Chicago machine politics. The Olympics is a Mayor Daley project and it is run by his cronies. People outside of Chicago might not know this, but Daley typically only has about 60% support in Chicago.

If you support Daley and the Chicago machine, they take care of you. If you don't, the Chicago machine does NOTHING for you. That's how it works. The snow gets plowed promptly in areas that supports him, it could take days in the southside, etc. Daley doesn't need to take care of all of Chicago, just the portion that supports him. Since at least 60% of the districts support him, he always wins elections and can act with impunity.

So about 40% of Chicago won't support the Olympics, because they don't support Daley and don't see how it will benefit them. Honestly, I'm not sure if they have even put much thought in to it, but just reflexsively don't like it.

As for the rest, Chicago is on the hook financially for the Olympics, the rest of Illinois is on the hook for a limited amount, and the federal government is on the hook for nothing. I think people are bothered with the lack of financial details (remember the secret insurance policy that is supposed to pay for cost overruns) and rosy projections given the cost overruns with Millennium Park and the last three Olympics (London, Beijing, and Athens).

If they were more honest with the financial details, the risks, and included more needed infrastructure improvements instead of white elephant stadiums, facilities, and luxury condos, people would support it more.

By the way, Chicago is in much better shape financially than Rio. Rio has much worse infrastructure, less resources, already have huge committments for the 2014 World Cup, and a less stable economy. But the people of Rio are much more willing to take the risks to prove to the world that they are among the world's major players. I'm pretty sure most Chicagoans don't have that chip on their shoulders and already know that Chicago is a world class city.

[cubssoxfan]

Lets see, Atlanta got a new downtown park and stadium for the Braves out of their games. Also got more world recognition which resulted in more business taking place in Atlanta. Barcelona got major public transit improvements. Except for the housing, which could get done without the games, some swimming venues and the Northerly Island canoe/kayak; what kind of permanent infrastructure improvements does this bring us? And what's up with the cycling events being held in Madison?! Why can't they stage them here or in the suburbs? Plenty of suburbs have annual, sanctioned bike races and could handle the Olympics.

[MTUCache]

Originally Posted by edsg25

Chicago is a major presence in the world, an alpha city by any account, and a city that is as easily loved by those who visit and want to come back as it is by Chicagoans themselves. And again, I repeat: this is not hyperbole on my part. Chicago is the real deal. And forward thinking people who know that image feeds into everything have no doubt that the exposure of the 2016 Olympics, like the world's fairs of the past, will be just another notch in Chicago's continuing rise to fame. It would take a flood of biblical proportions followed by the greatest building boom in history for Atlanta to produce such a back drop for the Olympic games.

This, to me as a new Chicago resident, is the most confusing part about the Olympic debate.

Who are you trying to convince here of Chicago's greatness? Everyone else or yourself? Having moved here from Detroit, I see a lot of parallels in the inferiority-complex of the people who live here. Detroiters have this complex about the fact that their city is a craphole. Chicagoans have this complex about the notion that somehow they don't quite "belong" up in that top-tier of cities worldwide with NYC/London/etc. Maybe it's more of a "second-city" complex than an inferiority complex, but it's confusing either way.

On one hand you're insisting that Chicago is a great global city, and "the real deal". Then in the next sentance you're talking about its "continuing rise to fame". The overwhelming feeling I'm getting from pro-Olympic people is that they insist that Chicago is both deserving of the Olympics because it's a great city, and that it needs the Olympics in order to be defined as a great city. Which one is it?

Assuming the fact that the city will lose money on the games (which I don't think anyone is arguing), then the benefits of hosting the Olympics are split up in two ways... amenities and pride. Arguments for amenities are basically null. If all you wanted was a punch of nice new parks and a stadium you could build them at a much cheaper pricetag than this Olympic bid. The pride issue just smacks of insecurity... how much money is your warm-and-fuzzy feeling of living in a "great global city" worth to you? How much money are you willing to shovel into a furnace just so you can tell people you did it and how great that must make you?

Bottomline, this debate seems to be driven by the insecurity of Chicagoans as a whole. Come 2017 and beyond, I don't see this making a bit of difference about how people think about Chicago, whether or not they get the games, whether or not you think of Chicago as a "great global city".

[STLMetro]

As someone who has lived in both Chicago and in the lower part of the state, it will be pretty amusing to see downstate folks get even more pissed off at the amount of tax revenue thrown at the city if this goes through. Let's get the public schools fixed first...

[meatpuff]

I agree with Mark Brown.
The Olympics would be good for us -- really :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Mark Brown (http://www.suntimes.com/news/brown/1755107,CST-NWS-brown06.article - broken link)

Whatever I could take an hour to write up about my opinion on this topic would look almost exactly like this column.

[Gunluvver2]

One thing for sure IF Chicago gets the 2016 Olympics is that the crowd around Obama will end up filthy rich. It will be interesting to see who the "players" that make the financial decisions are chummy with.

GL2

[big daryle]

Originally Posted by Drover

Because we're tired of being lied to about the costs, the projected economic benefit, and the scope of taxpayer liability for cost overruns. That and we're tired of the city's myopic obsession with the Olympic bid seemingly at the expense of serving the city's basic needs. It's hard to get excited over an Olympic bid when the city's mass transit system is falling apart and the streets look like strips of moon craters after years of neglect.

Drover is telling it like it is. the olympics brings nothing of real value to the area it goes to. i do not understand the appeal of the olympics at all.

[bry456]

Are there any articles concerning the Olympics aftermath on Beijing?

[JoeyPants]

I have mixed feelings about the Olympics. If we do get it, Chicago will get a lot of federal dollars to improve infrastructure, such as roads and mass transit. However, Daley will continue to gouge us.

Any mass project that takes place in Chicago will be tainted and corrupt, whether it's the Olympics, or repairing infrastructure. Does that mean we should oppose any development because Daley is going to hook up his buddies? If that's the case nothing should get built.

Daley is going to raise taxes and milk the citizens, Olympics or not. I say it's a wash. We will break even.

[Avengerfire]

Not surprisingly, two of these asshats are from the burbs,one is from Indiana,one is from South Carolina, and only two are from Chicago. (Although I suspect at least the one guy who is brother to the guy from Glendale Heights is a recent transplant. I would not doubt if the other guy from Chicago is a recent transplant as well.) What a bunch of losers.

"...Six people were charged with mob action today for yanking an Olympic banner from the Daley Center's Picasso statue and tossing it into the "eternal" flame, authorities said.

Charged are brothers Jeremy Hammond, of Chicago, and Jason Hammond, of Glendale Heights, both 24; Brian Brown, 22, of Itasca; Jeremy Sorkin, 21, of Chicago; Johnathan Clark, 21, of Rocky Mountain, N.C.; and Anna Stafford, 20, of Wheatfield, Ind...

...the six pulled down a banner -- valued at thousands of dollars -- from the statue and burned part of it in the flame dedicated to veterans..."

6 charged with burning Olympic banner - Chicago Breaking News (http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/09/6-charged-in-burning-of-olympic-banner.html - broken link)