By Emmanuel Tsikoudakis
Contributing Writer
The Chicago 2016 Olympic committee‘s recent stop on their cheerleading pom-pon tour for the 2016 Games was at the Rogers Park Public Library in the 49th Ward – a contentious ward, to be sure.
The arena was set. The downtown suits on one side, headed by Lori Healey, president of the Chicago 2016, the residents of the 49th Ward on the other. With members of the No Games Chicago group interspersed, the tension was palpable. Even Ms. Healey seemed enervated from previous community meetings, slowly making her way toward the podium, texting on her phone, waiting for her cue to begin when the promotional video ended.
But what was expected to end with a bang, finished with a whimper. And the Olympic committee is trudging along.
It’s not surprising. Who doesn’t like the Olympics?
Chicago 2016 members, Lisa Mastandrea and John Register, both former Paralympic athletes, addressed the crowd early on and captured the pathos of what it is to compete among the greatest athletes around the world, all the while promoting ideas of community and hope.
And no one was in the mood for the No Games Chicago group’s gimmicky buttons and t-shirts, or their rabble rousing. Even when one member of the group, who apparently follows the 2016 Olympic Committee from ward to ward, stormed out of the meeting, no one really cared.
Although there was a disguised yearning for the Olympic Games to be held in Chicago, Rogers Park residents were cautious of the revenue figures and community benefits thrown at them.
Instead, issues of financial transparency, clarity about the Olympic Village’s conversion to affordable housing, tax payer guarantees, all weighed heavily upon the residents. The Q & A portion of the meeting was steered clear of the No Games Chicago regulars, giving residents of the 49th an opportunity to speak. Specific concerns regarding political clout and corruption, broken promises to minority communities and laborers, and misrepresentation of the risks involved, pounded the committee panel.
It was clear: Chicago 2016 and city officials need not convince the people of Chicago that the games will benefit the city. Rather, they must gain the confidence of Chicagoans, and prove that the city itself is credible, accountable and competent.
In light of the city’s recent parking meter scandal, Blago, Burris, and the colorful history of Chicago corruption, Lori Healey’s textbook sales pitch, “Zero risk opportunity for Chicago,” just doesn’t sound right. To the 49th Ward, it sounds like the powers-that-be in Chicago are trying to sell a lemon – something we all know too well.
RELATED: Let The Games Begins: Chicago 2016 Comes To Rogers Park
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The fact is, there were at least two No Games Chicago members who asked questions. No Games Chicago has members in the nearby area and in the 49th Ward.
A “disguised yearning for the Olympics?” I don’t think that was the tenor of the residents’ questions. People may like the Olympics, but Ward 49 residents don’t think it’s a good thing to hold them in Chicago.
“It was clear: Chicago 2016 and city officials need not convince the people of Chicago that the games will benefit the city.” They need not? What are you smoking? The 2016 Committee has done nothing but blow soke at us since this scam started. They lied when they said the city would only need to put up $500 million “to have some skin in the game.” They lied when claim no tax payer money will be spent or has been spent (how do you account for the almost $200 million of taxpayer $ for the athlete’s village?). They lied when claim the “games make a profit” and forget to add in ALL the construction and operational costs of the games. And they are certainly lying about supposed community benefits. The only benefits being doled out are the sweetheart deals that the Mayor’s insiders are going to get – like the development deal given to Michael Scott exposed in today’s Tribune.
Sorry you’re so dismissive of “No Games Chicago group’s gimmicky buttons and t-shirts, or their rabble rousing.” We’ve been warning folks about this mess since January 31 when brought 250 rabble-like citizens together to hear from fellow rabble who happen to be activists in housing, human rights, education and social justice.
The only reason the people are getting this belated chance to hear directly from the 2016 crew is because of us. These meeting SHOULD HAVE happened two years ago BEFORE the Olympic program was launched.
But, hey, if you love the parking meter deal, then you’re gonna love the Olympics and you should get used to headlines like the one that ran above the fold in today’s Tribune, “Daley Insider Corners Prime Olympic Lots.”
So how about a little respect and even a “Thank you” to the No Games volunteers who have dogged the 2016 dog and pony shows from ward to ward documenting and exposing their BS. You might consider joining us a http://www.nogameschicago.com and help us rouse some more rabble.
Agree with Tom Tesser.
I asked why, in view of all the insurance against losses to the city that the games will have, it is necessary for the city to pledge to cover any losses that should be incurred by the developer of the Olympic Village. We were given an “answer” that did not answer my question at all.
Why are both London and Vancouver committees sorry that they bid the games? London organizers plead that they had no idea we’d be in the middle of a deep recession when they bid the games. Well, prosperity is no excuse for overspending, and Chicago is teetering on the edge of insolvency as it is. We absolutely cannot afford to risk incurring a large bill for these games, whether to cover the losses incurred for developers nor for infrastructure improvements that are distinctly not the ones that Chicago urgently needs but are useful only for visitors to the city, such as an extra express rail line to the airport when our airports are already served by rail lines.
I love the Olympics. Really. And the promoters managed to pull my heartstrings with the vid that was designed to do just that, to elicit an emotional response and kill rational thought.
If current indicators are any indication, we are just barely at the beginning of a prolonged downturn and a period of stagnation following it. We will barely have the money to fund our essential services and necessary capital improvements as it is, despite the Happy Talk of the television financial pundits. Circuses will just have to go by the board, and the Olympics really is just a circus, an indulgence we cannot afford.
Let’s get real and kill this bid, and focus on making the city more business-friendly in general. It’s no good to risk adding substantially to the city’s debt load while making the city more punitive to do business in for most smaller businesses. Why not focus on removing obstructions to manufacturing that may want to locate here otherwise, and reducing the city’s tax load, instead of funding favored business enterprises while making life hellish for most smaller businesses?