Read a day-by-day account of the team’s work in Switzerland from the Huffington Post.
Read a short account of the journey from Games Monitor, UK.
Coverage from “Breaking News 24/7” news blog.
Listen to Martin’s interview live from Switzerland on Chicago Public Radio’s 848 morning news show.
Download the 159 page “Book of Evidence.”
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Friday, June 19 8:00 p.m.
After 11hours in the air, an hour agonizing wait for our luggage to show up, and having our gracious ride-giver circle O’Hare in the downpour 15 times before she could pick us up…We’re back.
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El Pais – Spanish language press coverage
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DAY FOUR BEGINS AT DAWN
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DAY THREE REALLY HEATS UP
And I mean hot! It was a blistering day at the International Olympic Museum as all four candidate cities trooped in to make their final pitches to the IOC.
They were all met by the No Games delegation who had set up an improvised newsstand on the plaza in front of the museum entrance.
- It was blazing hot!
We engaged dozens of reporters, IOC members and tourists (the museum was open to the public) as we staffed our post. We formally delivered enough copies of the evidence book for all the attending IOC members and distributed another 50 copies to members of the press!
And this just in…
And in the Spanish language press, we are called “El enemigo en casa,” or “The enemy in the house.”
Thanks for tuning in!
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A BUSY DAY IN LAUSANNE
Today three members of No Games Chicago paid a visit to the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee. The three members were Martin Macias, Tom Tresser and Rhoda Whitehorse.
We came with boxes of a 160 page bound document we called “The Book of Evidence” that contained copies of news reports, articles and commentaries from the recent past that document our contention that Chicago should not get the 2016 Olympic games. We timed our arrival to coincide with the conclusion of a press conference done by the IOC President. Members of the Chicago press corps were present as were representatives from the other three candidate cities and members of the press from those countries.
A senior IOC official met with No Games member Tom Tresser privately for about 15 minutes. Tom repeated our request for a meeting with IOC President Jacques Rogges or a senior IOC executive. We also requested 10 minutes to meet with the IOC members after all the canidate cities have made their presentations on Wednesday. The official was very helpful and said he would pass on our requests. He also assured us that our materials would be delivered to IOC members.
On Wednesday the action shifts to the IOC Museum. The Chicago 2016 Committee will make their presentation to the IOC from 9:15 to 10:45am and then holds a press conference at 11:45am. We will hold our own press conference immediately after.
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NOW IT CAN BE REVEALED!
Three members of the No Games Chicago Coalition have been in Lausanne, Switzerland since Monday morning! Martin Macias, Tom Tresser and Rhoda Whitehorse have traveled to the headquarters city of the International Olympic Committee to tell them NOT to award the 2016 Olympics to Chicago.
As far as we know, this is the first time a citizen’s delegation has made such a journey to make such a demand in the one hundred year plus history of the modern Olympics.
Check back here over the next few days for video updates, pictures and exclusive behind the scenes information!
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Actually Pat Hill and a delegation already took the directly impacted community petitions over there in april at the DURBAN REVIEW
This is true gamesmanship. It is the people’s “tortoise” to the powers that be “hare”. All efforts to defeat the Chicago bid effort are to be congratulated and supported. send your contribution via Paypal now.
I applaud the No Games delegation from Chicago that made the trip to Lausanne. It takes guts to stand up to Mayor Daley, a man who illegally destroyed an airport in the middle of the night. He can not be trusted!
Keep the IOC from enabling Daley to take over Chicago’s PUBLIC parks and privatize their use for the next 10 years.
The IOC gets an afterglow period of influence after the 2016 games.
GOOD LUCK!!!!
DALEY MUST GO DOWN!!!!
You guys are losers.
I am absolutely ashamed that you people are actually advocating AGAINST the 2016 Summer Olympics in Chicago!
If thats the case, leave our city, because we don’t want you living here! The entire city is backing this bid, yea so we lose money, have you taken a look outside? The State of California is practically bankrupt, who gives a shit!!!
You people are ridiculous and pathetic, the Summer Olympics is what our city needs to put us back on the global map as a city of importance. You are all probably a bunch of suburban parents anyways who wouldn’t even be effected by the “poor transportation”, you just don’t want to see your tax dollars spent on a big olympic stadium
Let’s be realistic. We cannot afford to pay for this. End of story. And by the way, I am a Chicago-born, city-dwelling, loop-working parent. The entire city is NOT backing this bid.
I think its time to put this issue on the ballot.
I live in the city and work in the loop. “Work” is the key word as everyone who actually works for a living will have to poney up for this boondoggle.
You may be right about it putting Chicago on the map, since yet again we will look like screwed idiots and will be the laughing stock of the rest of the world.
No more Cook County taxes, no more Daily crime syndicate.
Max,
Get a grip on it. If it helps, negitave thoughts about fellow citizens and the shame you claim to be burdened with might be better addressed with prozac on the cheap. That would leave the rest of us unburdened by the debt that the ‘Games” would leave Chicagoians hobbled with. It is infantile of you to demand that other people “leave the city” or go into debt to give you what. Chicago is already on the list of important cities; hosting the Games would merely put us on a short list of saps. I bet you were hot to invest with Berni too when he was the rage. P.T. Barnum knew your measure. The I.O.C. and the way they run their athletic monopoly is rife with fraud. Perhaps that is why you see Chicago as a natural setting for them. Should you care about much other that your own wants, I recommend the book “Five Ring Circus – Myths and Realities of the Olympic Games” by Chris Shaw.
Can’t wait to see you guys fail and see the rings flying above the city!
Trust me, the entire city is not backing this bid.
I find that people opposed to the 2016 bid are more involved, and more caring than most about the health and vibrancy of the city of Chicago.
Recently, Daley has shown little more than contempt for the people of this city while defying laws, transparency and walking around with a failing moral compass.
He’s been cutting city services, threatening workers with lay offs and stonewalling the police on contracts and crying poverty the entire time; while sitting on a $1B stash of unregulated property taxes.
He screwed the city with this hairbrained parking meter lease.
His family members and close allies are constantly embroiled in federal indictments and only someone with the intellect of Einstein could possibly calculate the distance which separates our mayor for the truth.
I’d LOVE to have the Olympics in Chicago; but, not at the expense of our schools, infrastructure and/or fiscal stability.
Daley threatens all of those.
If anyone thinks that the only way to (re)establish Chicago as a world city is selling this city, and its people, short.
While the downtown lakefront is a gorgeous piece of real estate, the rest of the city, and cook county, are going to pot because Daley.
Support him at your peril.
Good luck to No games, and I wish you success.
Ah yes, the whole argument of “putting the city on the map” argument. I just don’t see the logic in that argument anymore.
I certainly wouldn’t want my tax money to be spent on a 3 week party on steroids. I’d rather have my tax money go towards improving the CTA, keeping jobs in the city, fixing up potholes and a menagerie of other issues that Daley and his crew keep on ignoring.
Good luck guys! I hope Chicago doesn’t get the games, especially now that Daley has revealed that the city will be on the hook for the full financial responsibility of the games. How will the city pick up the tab of $4B-$5B? The CTA is over 100 years old and needs a $4-$5B investment before we pay to build new Olympic facilities. Where is this money coming from? I know the parking meter deal netted about 25%, TIF funds might make up another 25% (where Daley borrows against future tax revenue), but I have no idea where the rest would come from? I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but I want no part of this financial responsibility. There are so many other priorities that require funding ahead of this…
DTMFA.
If you don’t know what that means, refer to Dan Savage, please.
These folks have NO corporate sponsors, are not being paid for their time and effort, and are funding this out of their own pockets.
They anticipated that Daley would give away the ranch in an effort to get Chicago the games, and they were right. Ultimately the Chicago taxpayers will be the ones who will have to pay.
Would the Olympics bring jobs? Yes. However, look at the history of both the city and the state. The corruption in both is notorious. The jobs will not go to you or me; the nepotism that has pervaded the system would only get worse.
These guys are just self promoters. They care nothing about the City. They successfully pinned us taxpayer with the cost of that soccer field that would have been free to the public. Now they want to deny us the improvements that the Olympics could bring to Chicago and the USA. Please stop doing us favors and stay in Switzerland
I say we need to start marching by the hundreds on City Hall and let the Mayor and the Aldermen know that we are no taken this laying down No More This is not Daley city to do with as he please THE WORD FOR TODAY IS IMPEACHMENT
Okay.
A deal with Latin School and the Chicago Park District that was with no public participation is somehow the fault of No Games Chicago?
Anything built with taxpayer dollars is not free. Property owners pay for it each year.
What improvements? The City may have to pay billions of dollars if the Olympic bid’s funding sceme is not successful. Imagine having to build venues, an Olympic Village, and do all the things us City residents expect a City to do. The Federal government will not help us out with carrying out the Olympics, we will have to do it ourselves.
Really very impressed with this here in London. Very best of luck with your lobbying.
You guys typically censor people? Why did my comment not past moderation? You have my e-mail so you can respond. If the questions I posed were too much because not even No Games Chicago has the answers then you guys should change your stance. You’re worse than Daley. The irony, you guys even want to protest.
I bet all of you No Games people are just bitter Republicans who hope that Obama is a failure. Grow up. If you don’t want your city to host the Olympics, move to Milwaukee. It’s much easier than throwing mud on the city that you supposedly love.
I’m a life long Demarcate, who paid long distance phone charges and extra electric bill, charges as a campaigner for Obama/Biden. I do support the President, and I also believe we (Chicago) need to take care of the needs of this city first and foremost, and for that; concern for my city and the people who live here, I shouldn’t have to move to Milwaukee. Which is a suggestion that has a Republic tone, don’t you think? Sorry the rhetoric read by former Olympians who at some point in their lives live here, broadcasted 4 times during my weekly bus commute on how wonderful it will be to see the new Olympic stadium in Washington Park and something about being friendly, just didn’t wash my brain. Having to work in a dead end job while looking for something better after being laid off of a management level position in Bush’s legacy, I tell ya, I’d rather my tax dollars go else where, thank you.