No Games Chicago citizen group statement

Chicago has not been awarded the 2016 Olympics. No Games Chicago thinks is a very good decision for the people of Chicago. But what happens now? The mayor has been quoted as saying he has “nothing up his sleeve” with regards to economic development for the future of the city. Representatives of the 2016 Committee said on many occasions at public meetings that this was THE plan for jobs and prosperity for our future. There appears to be no Plan B.

What now?

No Games Chicago helped turn back a bad plan for our future. Should we stay around to help build a better plan?

http://nogames.wordpress.com/

Thanks for nothing No Games Chicago.

Chicago had a very slim chance of getting the games to begin with.

stimulates growth, because "to make money, you have to spend money?" (to spend money, you have to have money ...)

So, to invest in a risk could pay off big ...

but hey, if it was George W. Bush hyping for the Olympics to go to Brownsville Texas, with all of the contracts going to Halliburton, they'd be all for it, right?

they can come up with their so-called better plan.

their small businesses crash and burn because no money is flowing.

What now? High levels of debt with no short or mid term possibility of recovering the investments the city needs instead of high debt with a reasonably short turn around on that investment.

By the time the city and state coffers recover it will be time for another reinvestment.

while public services were being cut and people were losing their jobs. We are talking of working poor, people that have to hold more than one job to make ends meet, the very same people unmoved by campaign slogans about "the middle class."

YAY PROGRESSIVES!

We're good at cutting off our noses to spite our face!

are not frakked.

Proof of that happening?

these geniuses come up with a plan. We are all waiting!

I suggest "Chicago Traitors", but I'm sure it will be something that will prop up their delusions...

Scuba

and I suggest that Albert's death, and Chicago violence, played a key role in IOC decision.

...the IOC even heard of Albert, most of the members have enough troubles in their own countries to be worrying about.

So, if crime figures/murder rates were an issue Rio wouldn't be hosting the 2016 Games. The city most probably won because it was South America's turn, simple as that.

(Those figures came from here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/olympics/09/19/rio.2016.crime.ap/index.html)

But then again that's par for the course.

It's not a good plan, but it's probably the easiest.

read this before spouting anything more:

http://nogames.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/book_of_evidence.pdf

on a gamble (yes, bidding on the Games is a gamble, a real-long shot one) is a freaking idiot.

at a time when public services and aid to people in dire economic situation are being reduced, or cut altogether.

Many who gathered for the bid slapdown were affiliated with No Games Chicago, which sent three delegates to Copenhagen to state their case.

After the vote, however, spokeswoman Francesca Rodriguez said No Games Chicago is "in no way taking any pleasure in this" and feels "sympathy" for those who are disappointed.

"In reality, Chicagoans who were for the Games and those who were against them were committed to the same goal: Working hard for what they thought would be best for the city of Chicago in the coming decades," she said.

"We're glad that the city won't now be burdened by the distraction of the Olympics at the expense of improving Chicago's schools, transportation, parks and the numerous other public policy initiatives on which the city needs to be focused."

Those who believe the Olympics can bring lasting change to a city -- beyond the spike in economic activity during the event -- are often misguided, suggested economist Rob Baade of Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Illinois.

"There is no reason to expect that the Olympics, or any mega-event, is going to induce a sustainable boost in the economy," he said. "The cost overruns are pretty legendary. Costs are generally understated and the gains overstated."

One Web site set up to rally against bringing the Olympic Games to town relied as much on humor as it did reason. Its name: Chicagoans for Rio 2016.

The site showcased unflattering head-to-head comparisons, such as "Naked people dancing" vs. "Chubby people eating." The increasing budget deficit in Chicago was contrasted with a $0 total for Rio.

"If you're a Chicagoan, Rio's budget deficit does not matter," the site said.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/02/chicago.olympic.opponents/index.html

Olympics loss forces Chicago to rethink plans

Loss to Rio, and early exit from voting, a stunning setback to Mayor Daley

CHICAGO - Chicago’s dream of an Olympics-sized stimulus was dashed when the 2016 Summer Games were awarded to Rio de Janeiro, and the loss amounts to more than a bruised ego for the nation’s third-largest city.

Officials can no longer trumpet the $13.7 billion citywide economic impact local Olympics organizers estimated would come of games-related jobs, construction, tourism and transportation. They’ll also have no excuse for distraction in a city grappling with a mounting deficit and violence that has led to dozens of deaths of city teens each year.

The loss marked a stunning defeat for Mayor Richard M. Daley, who spent three years working to sell Chicago residents on the games, often highlighting job creation and a financial influx that would help the city emerge from a recessional slump.

<snip>

Still, a recent Chicago Tribune/WGN poll showed Daley’s approval rating had sunk to 35 percent in part because of skepticism over the Olympics and an unpopular deal to lease city parking meters to a private contractor. And the mayor was in Copenhagen as an unwelcome spotlight again shone on his city after a 16-year-old honors student was beaten to death while walking to a bus stop after school.

Back at home, one of the first big issues the mayor will have to deal with comes Wednesday, when U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan meet with school officials, students and residents to talk about chronic school violence.

Daley is likely to be asked yet again what can be done to address the issue.

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/33154245/ns/sports-olympic_sports/

I await your answer with a smirk...

...though more jobs, even if only for a few years, would have helped some people starting almost immediately.