2016 Community Meetings Bring Out the Skeptics
Even if Chicago 2016 had resurrected Frank Sinatra from the grave to sing “2016, Chicago is” at the end of “My Kind of Town” that was playing on the sound system before the start of Monday’s community meeting for 39th and 40th Ward residents, it still wouldn’t have convinced the packed house at North Park University’s Hamming Hall that the whole idea of the city hosting the summer Olympics wasn’t some kind of razzmatazz….
Reportedly, No Games Chicago has been dogging 2016 Chicago at the ward meetings like groupies following the Rolling Stones. Whether its members and the other residents who spoke up Monday are a true reflection of the sentiments of the Chicago region, 2016 Chicago can always claim the “silent majority” of the 1,222,701 who’ve clicked their support for hosting the games in Chicago – or at least signed up to receive e-mail – on its Web site.
The IOC, a 2016 media representative told us, is definitely watching. “They’re paying attention to what is going on here in the media,” she said. “They’re looking at both sides.” If Monday’s 39th and 40th Ward meeting is any indication, wait until 2016 Chicago appears before the city’s north lakefront wards, in which case, representatives better bring their flak jackets.
It’s true. No Games Chicago is attending most of these meetings and other not staged by the 2016 Committee. They are filed with angry, informed and highly skeptical citizens. It’s also true that the IOC is aware of all that is happening in Chicago. They are watching and we are telling them. It’s time for you to tell your alderman – “No games. No blank check!”