Ryan Asserts Blank Check Will Be Signed – Working Hard “To The Very End”
From Berlin – Patrick Ryan has traveled tens of thousands of miles, crisscrossed time zones and wandered through countless hotel lobbies — all in search of support for Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympics.
With six weeks before the International Olympic Committee vote in Copenhagen on Oct. 2, Ryan and leaders of the three other candidate cities have taken the roadshow to Berlin for the last major campaign stop of the race…
Another key challenge for Chicago is to convince IOC members — and taxpayers back home — of its budget plans and financial guarantees for the games. Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley has pledged to sign the IOC’s host city contract if Chicago gets the games, taking full financial responsibility for any deficit.
“I think the IOC has to be pleased that we have every intent of signing the host city contract,” Ryan said. “At that point you’re putting your city’s credit on the line. Chicago has a very strong credit rating. Then, for the protection of the taxpayers and for the comfort of the IOC, we’re putting an insurance package together.”
But that’s down the road. In a few weeks, the only numbers Ryan will be interested in are the IOC vote totals.
“I’ve learned three important lessons from IOC members,” Ryan said. “Don’t assume anything, stay humble, and work, work, work right up to the very end.”
Mr. Ryan and the rest of the 2016 team is criss-crossing the planet to sell the bid. They are working overtime to snooker the IOC and Chicago’s taxpayers. They will deliver their so-called insurance plan late next week. But it doesn’t matter what’s in the plan – the Mayor is going to sign the blank check. We at No Games Chicago want to keep up the pressure as well. Please come out to the final 2016 community meeting at the Palmer House, 17 E. Monroe, on Tuesday, August 25 at 6:00pm.
The Olympics promoters won’t rest till this city is in the same basket with other financially failing municipalities.
Don’t think that couldn’t happen. We’re well along the road to municipal bankruptcy with current budget gaps, and with huge expenditures planned against falling tax revenues.
In the meantime, the city makes life miserable for small-to-medium sized businesses that get gouged for ever-increasing taxes and fees, while handing massive subsidies to crony businesses like United Airlines and to Big Box retail .
United Airlines is failing fast and is most unlikely to ever generate the tax revenue that will offset the $24M subsidy they got to move into the Sears Tower.
Your typical Target, Home Depot, Lowe’s, or Walmart gets a $3 million dollar subsidy from the locality it is built in. These stores almost won’t build without a massive handout from the local government, plus they demand massive infrastructure upgrades to build. So local merchants, who do not get these subsidies and loopholes and accommodations, are taxed to fund their own death at the hands of big box competition.
This whole country has become so stupid and self-destructive that you have to wonder if our leadership decided we will commit national suicide.
But we can perhaps still rescue Chicago, and do what we can to stop the Games and other unnecessary big-ticket expenditures. Let’s all show up at the last meeting downtown this Tuesday.
We the People must file a lawsuit against Chicago 2016 Committee. They were secretly selected from “friends-of-mayor-Daley”, made themselves unaccessible, operated from unknown location, did not answer emails and phone messages, (Ms. Healy) arrogantly dismissed inquiries, made secret deals with prospect contractors, rewarded themselves with taxpayers money of unspecified amounts, and finally did not deliver. Chicago 2016 was an epitome of corruption! Their budget should be taken back and given to starving entrepreneurs who want to open businesses and generate employment.