Good for Chicago if they get it but....an honor roll student was just publicly beaten to death in a High School fight there...Chicago has horrible crime rates...maybe there needs to be a little more attention paid to that :(

just my humble opinion.

I'm not from Chicago, don't live there, but think of it as the architectural capital of the US. And a contender for food capital, too. Chicagoans deserve a chance to host the Olympics, and I believe their city is a perfect venue. As delightful as Barcelona and Rio de Janeiro are, they cannot match Chicago's ability to pull this off brilliantly.

Good luck, Chicago 2016!

and yes I agree Marco, great architecture and great food :)

As a South-Sider I am crossing my fingers and toes and hoping that Rio gets it. Or Barcelona. Or anywhere but here thankyouverymuch.

That student death is deplorable, but bear in mind that in 2003 (the latest year fully reported), there were 598 homicides in Chicago. At the same time, in Rio de Janeiro, there were over 8,000 murders. That's something to pay attention to.

As long as it's not in my town, I'm fine. You are welcome to it Chicago. I can only imagine the havoc that would wreak on traffic, as if it's not bad enough.

I'm afraid we are going to get it. Everything in Chicago always costs exponentially more to build than estimated (Millenium Park, anyone?) so I truly doubt that the financial benefits will end up outweighing the cost. Not to mention that the taxpayers are on the hook for any excess costs, and the city and state are already in dire financial straits. The CTA is also not making ends meet right now - do we really need to add a Gold Line? Then there's the $400M disposable stadium. Yeah, no thanks.

And, you're right, traffic will be a living nightmare for the next 6 years. Even for someone who doesn't drive much, that's not a pleasant thought.

The Olympics are supposed to generate $4.4 billion in revenue, but early estimates are suggesting that it'll cost $5 billion minimum to host the games (given both history of Olympic budgets spiraling out of control and Chicago's seeming inability to complete any project within budget, I'd say this is a conservative estimate.) So, in sum, we spend $5 billion to generate $4.4 billion in what's essentially a two-week party.

Oh, I'm so torn on this one! I live in Chicago, and on one hand, I think it'll be great publicity for the city and will definitely bump up my industry (architecture).

On the other, I trust Richard "let's bulldoze Meigs Field at 1 a.m." Daley, his cronies, and the Chicago construction hegemony NOT at all, and I'm 100% certain that this will be another financial debacle like Millennium Park (300% over budget and 4 years late), and the taxpayers will get stuck with the bill AGAIN. For temporary buildings!

Also, I had friends in Atlanta at the time of their games, and they were in gridlock purgatory for two weeks. If it comes to Chi-town I'll probably be renting out my apartment and getting the heck out of Dodge.

no. no. no. we have enough problems in chicago as it is... this is the last thing we need throw money at. fix the schools, the cta, the crime rate first.

There have been some studies done on the economics of this and they demonstrate that hosting the Olympics is generally a revenue-loser. There are more intangible benefits (international attention and possibly more foreign trade), but it seems that Chicago ought to address its internal issues before spending lots of time and money on something like this.

Montreal just paid off their Olympic debt last year...from the 1976 Olympics. Don't do it, Chicago!

Love,
A Vancouver-ite

I love Chicago. I live in Chicago. I do not support this bid.

The Olympics are a two week event and the amount of money that will take to construct a vessel for it (as opposed to using the numerous stations we already have) is too much to put on taxpayers. Also, this sends the wrong message; what about more funding for education? The CTA is a mess and any improvements promised seemed to be for that purpose instead of fixing it for the locals.

Again, the Olympics are a two week event. It's just crazy.

agreed, kiki.

i want to be able to ride the blue line without stopping and switching to a bus thanks.

As a proud Chicagoan, a true city girl, I am excited and honored to have the olympics here!!!

Barack is going to Copenhagen folks, we are getting the Olympics!

Some questions...

Will all the construction create jobs (in addition to gridlock)?

Will the city be able to use the opportunity to finally get serious about its crime problem?

What is the benefit beyond the short-term exposure during the games?

How many existing facilities can be repurposed for the games to keep costs down?

I live in Wisconsin, and they are talking about having the cycling events here. So we will have our share of traffic too, even though not much of it should involve construction. It would be nice to put Wisconsin on the international map!

As a Chicagoan, born and raised, I'm on the fence about it. My family friend is in Copenhagen on the board for the olympic committee, and he's all for it, but I can't help but pinpoint things that need to be changed and improved in the city before I could even imagine us hosting the games.

I've got to side with a few of the posters above. I was born and grew up and worked in Cook County (holla to the Standard Oil Building!) during Richard I's and Richard II's reign (I still live in Illinois, just further downstate recently), and considering the graft and corruption that is par for the course in the city, county, and state, I don't doubt for a minute that all will be 'business as usual' if this happens. God, and then there are the unions...

On the other hand, boy, do we have a fabulous city or what? And Millenium Park? Yeah, WAY over budget, but it is World Class Amazing. Chicago would be such an astounding venue for the games. Can you imagine the kayaking or canoeing or swimming and sailing events happening right there on the lake?!! But as a citizen of the state, I know the costs will be trickled down to all of us in one way or another.

GAH!!! I don't know if I'll be happy or sad tomorrow when the announcement is made!

Case in point, how are we suppose to fit the thousands of people coming for the games on the El when it can barely handle the morning rush on a regular day to day basis?

As a Chicagoian I hope to god that we do not get picked!!

I hope we do get the 2016 olympics so that we can create more jobs and create more projects.
It will definitely push for more construction. :)

http://edytaandco.blogspot.com/

It will just be another way for Chicago BIG government to impose it's way into the pockets of the average Chicagoan that doesn't stand to make anything off of the games. Life is getting worse Daley(pun) around here in the Chi and the Olympics will only make that worse.

How about Apartment Therapy do a story on the low-income homes that would be torn down for the sake of building new athletic buildings that will hardly -- if ever -- be used after post-Olympics.

"As delightful as Barcelona and Rio de Janeiro are...."

Barcelona, which hosted the 1992 Games, isn't even in the running.

Madrid is.

I am a Milwaukeean and I would be so excited if Chicago got it! MKE needs a major Public Transportation BOOST! and the transportation update between Chicago, Madison WI & MKE would be fabulous! I can't wait to get an opportunity to go to the 2016 OLYMPICS!

To reduce not wanting the Olympics in your city because of "traffic" and "taxes" is such a narrow way of thinking.

I'm thinking that bringing the Olympics to a major city in the United States is about the continuum of building our nation's legacy. The Olympics are a source of global pride and if our nation could host it it would be all kinds of awesome.

Go Michelle, Oprah, and Mr. President.

Like many others, I worry about our transportation infrastructure, or lack thereof. If the 2016 games are the impetus to bring the CTA up to a more adequate level, great, but that's just one part of the equation.

City roads are always in terrible shape (there are year-round potholes on my Ashland Ave. commute), surrounding expressways are under nearly constant construction, and the RTA (Regional Transportation Authority) service could also stand for improvements. To support the influx of people the CTA, RTA, and major arteries must be better linked and better served.

Sorry but I think "traffic" and "taxes" is NOT narrow thinking if this is your home and it will impact your daily life for the next 6 years.

Oh yeah, and if you have to end up paying for it.

i agree with peggasus - i'm torn in a lot of ways, and i don't know if i will be happy or sad tomorrow.

as someone who depends on CTA and knows that they can hardly handle rush hour commutes, i honestly do not understand how they think they could handle the olympics.

if the time comes, i plan to disappear for the summer and rent my conveniently-located home to tourists.

Please, no.

@Tequilla Red -- yes, yes, yes.

Like 10% taxes in the City aren't enough (not including the bottled water tax, etc. etc.).

The symbolism is fantastic, but its just that -- symbolism.

Does any of us think any differently about Atlanta or LA because they hosted the Olympics? Montreal?

Please.

Of course there could be negative consequences.

But I like to think about the good things that could come out of having the Olympics in Chicago.

Chicago is still "fly over" country for a lot of people. It would be nice to draw a lot of interesting people from across the country to see what an amazing city Chicago is. I think a lot of people may see that it can be a good place to live and do business.

While the Olympics would officially be in the City of Chicago, I think that a lot of people from around the Midwest would be proud to have them here. Another poster mentioned that Wisconsin is supposed to host the cycling competition. Basically, the Olympics would give exposure to the Midwest in general.

Are the Olympics bad business? Who knows. I think it would be smart to plan the infrastructure of the Olympics so that a lot of it could be re-purposed after the games. Maybe this could include enhancing pre-existing stadiums at colleges and high schools for instance.

"...and if our nation could host it it would be all kinds of awesome."

Our nation has hosted it numerous times:

Los Angeles, 1984 - Boycotted by the USSR and Eastern Bloc Nations in retaliation for the US boycotting the 1980 Moscow Olympics, as well as unprofitable despite using venues dating from the 1932 Games hosted there

Atlanta, 1996 - Marred by a terrorist bombing in Olympic Park - and a big money loser for Atlanta.

Salt Lake City, 2002 - Bribery scandal to bring the Games there.

Olympics are like World Fairs - Bad business and irritating as well as costly for the tax payers who live and work in those cities. Go to any Olympic city and have a look at the costly and mostly abandoned facilities that were created for the purpose - if they're still there...
...and ask the folks who live there how they enjoy paying higher taxes for games which they often can't even attend due to outrageous ticket prices.

I hope Chicago loses the bid but for purely selfish reasons. If Chicago loses, Colorado can put in a bid for the winter olympics. Since I live in Denver, I obviously want that! Denver is so up and coming right now that I really think an olympics games hosted here would be great for growth.

"ask the folks who live there how they enjoy paying higher taxes for games which they often can't even attend due to outrageous ticket prices."

Bepsf, amen to that

It would be hard to match SLC's successes in the winter olympics 2000, fiscally, and civically. Chicago has a lot to offer culturally: cuisine, arts, shopping, but seems to have big problems with management and organization and accessibility. I'd love to see the 2016 Olympics elsewhere. I like the Denver suggestion for Winter Olympics...

I'm from Chicago and have just moved back after living in Denver for 5 years. I'll be honest and say that I'm not quite in love with Chicago after being gone for so long and god help me if I'm not out by 2016.

But still, it's a beautiful city. I give great tours with pride when friends come to visit.

It will NOT be a beautiful city if the Olympics come. Most people have stated the obvious - taxes, traffic, etc.

But my biggest shock: do you all realize that Mayor Daley - and this was said directly from his mouth - plans on using our Public Parks for housing for the visitors and athletes? Humboldt, Garfield, and Lincoln (all incredibly historic!) are the three big parks he wants to dig up and put tons of condos on. These will remain there after the games, no doubt to help propel gentrification. This is appalling to me, especially because Daley tends to gloat about being the mayor of the Greenest City.

Also - my brother is an engineer for highways and roads (you can blame him for the 294 mess, that's him!) And my mother was asking if the Olympics came, what are they planning to do? Well, he says that there is no way to widen most streets and all the highways. It's completely out of the question. So what's their only solution? Build underneath or above. And they're favoring underneath.

Which means starting next Monday, if we get the bid, we'll probably be dealing with nothing short of hell on our already hellish highway system. Building highways underneath! I wouldn't be surprised if they closed part of the Kennedy for such a huge task.

Thank goodness I'm moving.

Yeah, we can't afford to fix the potholes in the streets, but we can shell out $5 billion for the Olympics. The CTA barely copes with ridership as it stands now- I'm sure the Olympics will bring yet another doomsday budget fare hike for Chicagoans.

Thanks, but no thanks.

I know Sydney still lives with the pride of hosting the Olympics. I haven't been keeping up with all this news about Chicago wanting/ not wanting the Olympics but Sydney gained a lot. While it was already world famous we now have a new sports precinct which is used a lot, it attracted visitors (even in the Construction phase you could visit the site) and people talk about the experience fondly. Plus- we gained a new location for IKEA (its now located in the Olympic precinct).

That said, I'm sure Rio and Barcelona would love to host the games, if Chicago doesn't want them.

Oops. Meant Madrid.

As someone in the design and construction industry, all I can say is that right now we need all the help we can get. And this will probably still be the case if and when ground is broken on Olympics-related projects. So if there is a giant glimmer of hope to be had for this flagging industry, I know myself and a ton of other folks would see it as a godsend.

All the other cities where the Olympics have taken place survived..I'm pretty sure Chicago can.

I live in a suburb close to there and I would love every minute of it!

I live in the suburbs of chicago and travel into the city everyday, if I can't make it to work on time because of an overabundance of traffic, how am I supposed to pay the ever rising cost of our taxes (don't we have the highest in the nation right now? not really sure)
And sorry but I don't have an extra grand in cash laying around for tickets to the big show

Have you seen the potholes in this city--still here from last winter? Never mind the CHA residents thrown to the wolves while the city drags its feet on rebuilding the homes promised when they demolished shoddy housing built by Daley 1. I love this city, and believe that Chicago has more important challenges to put our energy and money to. I'd rather watch the Olympics somewhere else than risk the future of the wonderful people of Chicago.

If the Olympics come to Chicago I am leaving the city for a month! I spend 3 hours commuting from Chicago to the burbs and back each day. Every single road I use for my commute is/was under construction. I can't even imagine how much worse it's going to get if we get the bid! Not to mention my fears of taxes going up exponentially. My fingers are crossed that we DON'T get the bid!

NO WAY. They are doing results on TV right now. I can't afford it, yeah Chicago will get revenue but only for that time we will we screwed. its going to take up too much park land and after its over then what?

Oh thank god. We lost it in the first round of voting.

The kid in me would have loved to be around for Olympics in my (admittedly gorgeous) city, but the adult in me dreaded the taxes, the traffic, the unfair and unnecessary relocation of thousands of low-income families, and the destruction of several historic parks that contribute to the very Chicago beauty that Daley's been touting.

Thank goodness. Chicago had zero chance. Brazil deserves all the way. USA yet again over South America first time? No way!