Tribune asks “Torched by the Olympics?”
The Tribune’s Steve Chapman wonders if the Olympics will be such a treat for Chicago.
Representatives of the International Olympic Committee arrived last week to get a firsthand look at Chicago, one of four cities still in the running for the 2016 Summer Games. If locals are lucky, the IOC team will admire our architecture, stroll our lakefront, enjoy our restaurants, praise our plans—and then give the Games to someone else.
I can see how it might be fun to hold the Olympics here, just as it would have been a treat to attend the wedding of Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen. But getting picked to put on the Games is like being asked to let B&B take their vows in your backyard and throw a huge bash for them afterward. It’s a nice deal for the betrothed, but not so great for the host, who would probably be cleaning up the debris and paying the bills for some time to come.