Ticket prices for the proposed 2016 Olympic Games will truly be Olympia, according to the Chicago Tribune. You’ll have to shell out between $520 to $1,645 for the Opening Ceremony and pay $28 to $486 for “prime events.”  Come on, Chicago, wise up. These games will bankrupt us. But if you can afford $1,645 for a ticket to a show, then maybe you’re not worried about the mountains of debt our city will incur while our schools, clinics, roads and parks crumble and close.

A report by Prof. Victor Matheson, “Mega Events: The effect of the world’s biggest sporting events on local, regional and national economies” exposes the lies told to us by the 2016 Olympic Committee. They claim the 2016 games will bring in billions. In the report, published in 2006 by the Department of Economics at the College of Holy Cross, Prof. Matheson says “Not so.” This report is available for download at www.tinyurl.com/Matheson-2006.

His report concludes with this quote:

“The most important piece of advice that a local government can take regarding mega-events, however, is simply to view with caution any economic impact estimates provided by entities with an incentive to provide inflated benefit figures. While most sports boosters claim that mega-events provide cities with large economic returns, these same boosters present these figures as justification for receiving substantial subsidies for hosting the games. The vast majority of independent academic studies of mega-events show that the benefits to be a fraction of those claimed by event organizers.”

Ben Joravsky, the political reporter for The Reader, took a look at the 2016 Committee’s Bid Book and came way skeptical.  Headlined “The $10.5 Million Mascot,” Ben fumes ” With its 300-plus pages of bright pictures and cheery quotes, the bid paints a picture of a city free from potholes, budget deficits, CTA meltdowns, murders, …