Listen to President Rogge announce the vote.

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?

Please answer the questions on our brief survey to tell us what role, if any, a group like our might play in helping to create a city where all prosper in health and security.

What ideas do YOU have for our city’s future economic development?

Lastly, we ask you to share your contact information with us so we might work together to make that vision become a reality.

PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK TO ANSWER OUR BRIEF THREE-QUESTION SURVEY.

By Ben Joravsky, from today’s Chicago Reader, “One last argument for why Chicago doesn’t need, want, or deserve the games.”

It’s been almost six months since I last wrote to encourage you not to award Chicago the 2016 games. Back then, as you recall, I was welcoming some of you to town for your official visit. Now, of course, you’re in Copenhagen, preparing to announce on October 2 which city they’ll be held in—Chicago, Madrid, Tokyo, or Rio.

I don’t want Chicago to “win” for the reasons I mentioned last time: we can’t afford the games, and they’ll tear up our parks. But let’s talk about your needs. I urge you, for your own sake: spare yourself the cost overruns, backroom deals, political wrangling, embarrassing scandals, and ugly headlines a Chicago Olympics would almost certainly bring you.

Let me explain.

Let him explain…

We spare no expense to update Chicago on what we’re doing! Seriously, Copenhagen has been flooded with olice, security and Secret Service agents. Everyone here is excited about Oprah, Michelle Obama or Pele. We still like to think that our presence is making a difference…

No Games Chicago is in Copenhagen! The same team that went to Lausanne, Switzerland in June is now in Copenhagen. Our goal remains the same – to convince the International Olympic Committee that the 2016 Olympics for Chicago is the wrong project for the wrong city at the wrong time.

We;re still raising funds to pay for this trip – so please do use the PayPal button on the right!

Follow the news of our efforts on the “Live From Copenhagen” page on this web site!

The iconic mermaid of Copenhagen.

For No Games supporters an inspirational quote from the late great Molly Ivins:

“So keep fightin’ for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don’t you forget to have fun doin’ it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin’ ass and celebratin’ the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was. “

See you at the rally at City Hall 5:30 today!

An Open Letter to Barack Obama: For the good of Chicago, don’t go to Copenhagen.

Dear President Obama:

This summer has not been easy for many people who reside in Chicago. As the city entered into the final leg of competition for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Chicago citizens witnessed cuts in services, and city employees were forced to take furlough days to balance the budget. At the same time, many state programs and jobs were slashed.

While funds were nowhere to be found for basic services, the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid committee, the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois lined up nearly $2 billion in taxpayer funds for the 2016 Olympics.

A recent WGN/Chicago Tribune poll found that less than half of Chicagoans support the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid, and that 84 percent were opposed to using tax revenue to cover any losses incurred. Only recently did the Chicago 2016 bid committee make any effort to engage the community in citywide meetings where it was evident that many in Chicago had deep concerns about hosting the Olympics, including the potential for cost overruns and resident displacement.

As a longtime resident of Chicago, you are well aware that in this city, cost overruns and delays of large civic construction projects go hand in hand.

Millennium Park came in four years behind schedule and three times over budget. The recent construction on the Dan Ryan Expressway came in at twice its original budget. And last summer, construction was halted on a “super-station” for express trains between Chicago-area airports and the Loop business district–$213 million has been spent on the project, and today, there isn’t much more than a concrete hole in the ground to show for it.

Costs overruns and the Olympics also go hand in hand. The city of Vancouver, which will host the 2010 Winter Olympics, is $6 billion in debt, a tab that will be picked up by taxpayers. And the 2012 Summer Olympics in London are four times more expensive than the initial budgeted figure–with a total cost running currently at $20 billion, nearly three years ahead of the opening ceremonies.

AS YOU well know from your days as a community organizer, displacement and gentrification are issues of great importance to many poor and working class neighborhoods of Chicago. This is especially true in Chicago’s mostly African American South Side neighborhoods, where a majority of the Olympic venues and the Olympic Village will be located.

Over the last 20 years, the Olympics have been increasingly associated with the displacement of local residents in host cities. The Chicago 2016 bid committee has been touting the success of the Atlanta games in 1996. However, it continually fails to mention that the Atlanta Olympics displaced 30,000 residents and over 800 units of public housing were demolished.

If Chicago is awarded the 2016 Olympic Games, corruption, cronyism, cost overruns and displacement are guaranteed. The Olympic tab for which taxpayers will be responsible will add up, and the historic and much-cherished public parks where Olympic venues are slated to be located will be closed and demolished.

At the same time, the city of Chicago’s financial problems will only get worse. The mayor’s office is already predicting that the budget crisis in 2010 will be worse than 2009. Basic services will continue to be cut. City workers will continue to be laid off. Schools will continue to be closed. And the politicians at City Hall will continue to tell the city’s residents that we all have to share the burden, like they did this past summer.

The mayor and Chicago 2016 may not yet realize it, but they will be unlocking a hornet’s nest of resident discontent.

We know that Mayor Daley and the Chicago 2016 committee are pinning their hopes on your presence in Copenhagen for the final decision on October 2. But we are asking that you reconsider your decision to go.

Stay home and represent the will of Chicagoans who are tired of the corruption that plagues politics in this city, tired of watching their tax dollars funneled elsewhere while their neighborhoods crumble, and tired of being lied to and ignored by elected officials.

The people of Chicago who packed Grant Park on Election Night to listen to your victory speech joined you in hopes of change. Change in Chicago would mean a direct investment in hospitals, housing, schools, trains and other services that would improve the quality of life in our city.

Chicago’s Olympic bid isn’t a promise of change–it’s just more politics as usual.

Bob Quellos
Co-founder, No Games Chicago

Read the essay, “Why is Obama going to Copenhagen?” From Foreign Policy onliine.

PROTEST CHICAGO’S OLYMPIC BID

From the Drudge Report:

FOX-TV CHICAGO ORDERED NOT TO RUN ANTI-OLYMPICS STORY
Sun Sep 27 2009 21:56:11 ET

A local TV station that reported on Chicagoans NOT wanting the Olympics has been told NOT to run the report again, insiders tell the DRUDGE REPORT!

The Chicago Olympic Committee told FOX Chicago that its broadcast "would harm Chicago's chances" to be awarded the games. The station's news director ordered staff to hold fire after the report aired once last Thursday morning, claims a source.

Chicago, Madrid, Tokyo and Rio are mounting strong bids for the honor to host in 2016. The International Olympic Committee makes its decision on Friday. President Obama will lead the in-person push.

Watch the offending news report from Fox Chicago News.