High School Students Ask More Questions Than Chicago’s So-Called Watch Dog Groups

A member of the No Games Chicago Coalition visited a public high school history class on Thursday, April 30. The students were studying the Olympic bid process. They had one large, over-arching question:

“What will be the impact of the Olympic Games on the poor, working class and people of color?”

Here is the complete list of questions they asked. These are EXACTLY the sorts of questions that the 2016 Committee has ducked. These are the questions our so-called civic watchdog groups SHOULD HAVE been asking.

Thank you to the students of the history classes from the north side public school for putting these questions together. No Games will not disclose the name of the school or your teacher unless you give us permission.

CHICAGO PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WANT TO KNOW:

• Do you think the Olympics will benefit more than just the upper, wealthy class?
• According to the proposal, at what point is Chicago going to see the profits from the Olympics?
• How might the Olympics affect prices and goods and services in Chicago?
• Will the Olympics provide jobs for Chicagoans? For who and for how long?
• How does the city plan to pay for the Olympics without uses public dollars?
• What do you think about Obama’s support for the Chicago Olympic bid?
• How do you think the Olympics will affect housing costs in the city? What will happen to the Olympic village housing after the Olympics? How will it affect affordable housing access in Chicago?
• What neighborhoods will be most affected by the Olympics and how?
• How will the Olympic facilities be used after the Olympics are finished?
• How will the Olympics affect taxes for Chicagoans
• Who are the private financial backers that the city is suppose to have lined up to back the Olympics?
• What will be the total cost of bring the Olympics to Chicago?
• Will the Olympics have an affect on public transportation in Chicago? How will all the extra people in the city be transported around the city?
• What can people do if they want the mayor and Chicago 2016 to know that they don’t want the Olympics?
• Can you point us to any important resources (Internet, organizations, databases, etc.) that could help us with our research about the affects the Olympics might have on Chicago?
• Why do you think Washington Park has been chosen as a central site for the Olympics?
• What do you think the purpose / motivation is for bringing the Olympics to Chicago?
• Can you tell us more about your own background and how that has affected your opinions on the Chicago Olympic bid? Where are you from? Where do you work? Etc.
• Does race (Black, white, Latino, etc.) play a role in the politics of this Olympic bid?
• We’ve heard some about the affects the Olympics might have on historically Black neighborhoods on Chicago’s South Side… but what about the affects they might have on Latinos in the city?
• What other important areas could this kind of money be spent that would be a greater benefit to Chicago, specifically low-income, working class and people of color in Chicago?
• What sort of actions have you and nogameschicago taken? In what ways have these actions been effective?
• What businesses and corporations are behind this Olympic bid? How do they stand to gain from it?
• How does the Chicago bid seem to currently compare to the other cities that are competing for the 2016 games?
• How does the Olympic plan relate to the South Side Bud Billiken parade?

Don’t these students deserve to have their questions answered?