Let’s ALL Take Up Dart Throwing
An impassioned Mayor Daley today portrayed the 2016 Summer Olympic Games as the economic salvation for Chicago, but warned that the city just might lose the Olympic sweepstakes “if people keep throwing darts.”
The Mayor confessed he has “nothing else up my sleeve” in the way of economic development plans for Chicago other than spending $10 billion (No Games unofficial estimate of the REAL cost of the 2016 games) on a party seven years from now that would bankrupt the city, displace the poor and working poor from their homes near venue sites and destroy public parks.
No Games suggests that we call become expert dart throwers. Even the Sun-Times editorial board agrees. Their July 9 editorial is headlined “‘Throwing darts’ the only way to pin down full data on Olympics.”
May we suggest throwing this dart at the 2016 Committee – Why does Lori Healey keep lying to the public and assert that the taxpayers has not paid one dime for the games when the city has already spent $86 million to purchase the Michael Reese Hospital site for the Olympic Village and will have to spend millions more to clean it up prior to construction.
Download a large version of the No Games dart thrower graphic. Take it with you the next staged 2016 community publicity stunt.
We need more poison frogs.
The Mayor told us hosting the Olympic Games would not cost ONE DIME for the City of Chicago’s taxpayers, now he’s upset when people ask how much EXACTLY it will cost. If he is so sensitive, perhaps he will consider retirement.
“city has already spent $86 million to purchase the Michael Reese Hospital site for the Olympic Village and will have to spend millions more to clean it up prior to construction.” Bad argument.
The city borrowed $85 million to buy the Michael Reese Hospital campus from Medline Industries. Medline would only get $65 million, because the company agreed to make a $20 million “charitable contribution” back to the city. The city would use that $20 million to pay up to five years of interest on its $85 million debt, demolish the hospital, and clean up the site. Then sometime in the next couple years it will sell the site for at least $85 million to a developer or developers, who in turn will build a complex big enough to house about 15,000 Olympians. The city will spend no money if we win the bid and can sell the site to developers.
It’ll be worse if we don’t win the Bid, the city will actually be stuck with an abandoned building that it paid 85 million for, given the area and the housing market, I doubt developers will want it if we lose the bid.
Wilmette guy, you make a poor argument. The city has spent 86 mill on a piece of land with regards to the Olympics. So much for the argument that tax dollars will not be used for this deal. And why is this Administration ( and a spineless City Council) spending this kind of money on a project we may not even get?
You’re from Wilmette. Therefore you have no clue.
And BTW, keep the realtor hawked McMansions in the suburbs, we don’t need them here, what we need is government affordable government subsidized mixed income housing.
I am ashamed about Chicago. It’s a beautiful place to visit, but it’s got corruption flying all over it, and in it. The world and the Olympic committee needs to know about this before they pick a corrupted city to represent the world.
The $4.5 Billion budget, will not be used for the Olympic Games, chunks of it will be split up with all the money hungry politicians that run the city.
This city cannot handle the amount of people that will arrive here. There is not enough parking spaces, and the parking spaces available are set up to trick even its residence. How can it be legal to be ticketed 5 or more times for parking 10-15 mins past the time limit?
This city was created to steal legally from people, and if you are planning on touring Chicago, don’t. Just take a look at the pictures. It will keep you thinking it’s a great city, because actually experiencing it, you’ll see how dirty it is, and how corrupt the politicians and the people to enforce the city really are.
Each road sign in Chicago was purposely put up to get your money, not to protect the city. If they cared that the area you just parked at needs to be cleaned they would put more signs stating clearly the hours of no parking, and not just have one sign (at the beginning of the street that you’ll never see unless you’re looking for it) that includes the Parking meter areas (Paybox). This is just one of many great examples of how Chicago will take your money.
So Olympic Committee, if you really love that kind of stuff, and really want to represent the world as a beautifully corrupted place, then go ahead. Bring it. Hell, if you really just want give away you’re money to the dumb politicians because the Olympic it self is no longer how it use to, then just give them a dollar, and take the Olympic to a better place to hide how corrupted you are also.