Mayor Promises Blank Check to IOC
No Games organizer Bob Quellos asks “Where’s the accountability.”
No Games Chicago has been warning of this for six months!
As reported by Greg Hinz in Crain’s Chicago Business:
On Wednesday in Lausanne, Switzerland, the last fig leaf fell off Mayor Richard M. Daley’s illusion that Chicago can throw a 2016 Olympics party without risk to local taxpayers. Three years ago, Mr. Daley said taxpayers wouldn’t spend a dime on luring and running the Olympics, that the private sector would pay for it all, with a big profit likely to boot.
Then, a while later, he said the city would have to guarantee $500 million and the state $250 million — but the money never, ever would be needed because of hordes of Olympic sponsors and an undisclosed insurer that would make up any shortfall.
Wednesday, the ante went up — way up, into the billions. Bowing to pressure from the International Olympic Committee, Mr. Daley agreed that Chicago will sign the same host-city agreement that other Olympic cities sign, an agreement that includes a complete financial guarantee.
The Mayor has just promised to mortgage the financial future of the city for his Olympic pipe-dream. Don’t let our city’s future go up in smoke!
Pass the lube, please. We’re gonna get screwed BIG TIME.
Review of some press:
The Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman has quotes from two aldermen who say, “Wait a minute!” http://www.suntimes.com/sports/olympics/1627181,chicago-olympics-2016-daley-061709.article
The comments for this article are some of the roughest that I’ve read. Don’t read them with the kids around!
Here is the Chicago Reader’s Clout City blog entry:
http://blogs.chicagoreader.com/politics/2009/06/17/mayor-daley-big-olympic-spender/
Surprise, surprise, Daley is a liar!
Have Daley and his cronies put up their personal assets to cover cost overruns.No taxpayer money to cover shortfalls could be used till the fat cat fund was depleted.Do you really think that if Daley stands to lose his house over cost overruns,that there will be any cost overruns?