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Around Town
We're still trying to figure out exactly...why? Was it the wooden performance by members of the bid team last night? Was there an anti-American sentiment? Was it something as seemingly small but actually big as the world-wide exposure of the Derrion Albert video, a single, visceral act of horrific violence? Who knows? What we do know is that there will be much speculation over the next few days - including here - and maybe we'll come to an answer. Though many of us here at Chicagoist were wary of the Games being held here, to lose in the first round is still...insulting? Hurtful? Because though we might not have wanted the Olympics here, that doesn't mean we don't have civic pride. We love this city. That's why we're here, writing day-in and day-out on this website about this city of ours. Out of love for a city we marvel at. So call us conflicted this afternoon as we try to figure out what happened. And, for some of us, catching up on sleep.
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I just got back from Daley Plaza. Wow. What a bummer.
Losing Civic Pride over the Olympics? Are you kidding me? I've lived in Chicago my entire life (over 48 years) and I'm sick to death of the never - ending corruption and taxpayer largesse that's forever being doled out to political insiders who have already paid off half (if not more) of the IL legislature. I love this city but I both hate and fear what's to become of Chicago and our state in general if we don't change our MO soon. The arrogance, the preening and the ridiculous time and monies spent on this silly bid for a sporting event boggles the mind - do you think that anyone in New York behaved this way when they lost the Olympics not that long ago? They didn't care, because they knew that they had a world - class city that doesn't need a kleptocratic Euro - trash potentate confab to confer some kind of legitimacy on their city's greatness. Cheer up, my fellow Chicagoans - failure of this magnitude will only help get honest politicans and true reformers to finally get the chance to clean up our city, and make it the world - class destination that is so richly deserves.
You'd think someone that's lived here as long as you have would have some sense of historical reference: Chicago has come a LONG, LONG way since the days of the Daly Sr. political machine. The rest of your post is absurd, xenophobic rubbish best suited for the Glenn Beck Show. I assume you also believe the whole country is going to hell bc there is a Chicago pol in the White House. Do us all a favor and stop throwing the baby out with the bath water. No, Chicago is not perfect, but we lost a colossal economic opportunity that would have brought in billions of investment dollars and a positive, long-lasting effect on the city (see Barcelona).
Your post is the one that's total garbage!
You can't even spell Daley's name correctly!
I'm surprised at the sudden expression of "mixed feelings" on Chicagoist. So what, all the criticism of the bid posted here over the last few months wasn't fully thought through? You were at the front of the pack reporting all the problems, but apparently never (until now) considered there might have been benefits, both tangible and intangible.
I thought I was pretty clear. Yes, we were wary of the bid, but the conflicted feelings come from the sense of rejection of finishing last in the selection process. Just because many of us didn't support the bid doesn't mean we don't love our city. This has nothing do with considering the benefits at all; it has to do with our emotional response and surprise to finishing last.
Fair enough. Will Chicagoist do a follow-up story on the hundreds of millions of dollars that 'No Games' represented would be funneled into education now that the Olympics won't be coming?
The Olympic aftershocks will fade over the next week, but yes, this is going to be a long-term thing - it HAS to affect the 2011 mayoral race, right? - and we're going to do our best to cover it all.
To suggest that somehow this site was the mouthpiece of No Games is demonstrate that you've not read our coverage over the last several months.
We will, however, be doing follow up stories on the hundreds of millions of dollars that are (or aren't) spent on schools, transit and education now that the 2016 Summer Olympics aren't coming to Chicago.
Some levity: Did all my fellow Cubs fans not detect the obvious karmic ramifications of recycling Cubs paraphernalia?
No wonder we were bounced in the first round.
Your photos disappointment me in their timidness, Mr. Gilmer. I wanted to see some crying!
you know, the funny thing was, a lot of people seemed stunned, shocked, supporters were walking around in a daze. But...a lot of people just seemed, dare I say, sorta disinterested? Maybe I'm completely misinterpreting it (I haven't slept in about 33 hours) but it seemed like the general attendees were bummed and stung but not absolutely crushed as I'm sure the 2016 bid committee folks were.
A rare long post from me ... I apologize.
While various folks in and out of the city will try their damnedest to put the failure all on one factor, the true reasons for Chicago's failure are manifold:
1. The bid itself sucked ass. This is probably the most important factor. The bid was built on the idea of throwing the thing on the cheap and purposefully designed to leave almost no permanent footprint ... including in the form of improvements to city infrastructure.
2. The bid presentation sucked ass. As an international organization, The IOC doesn't necessarily want presenters to speak English, though they would like their presenters to speak SOME language. Having Daley as city spokesman on an international stage was always a limitation. Pat Ryan isn't much better, as he seems to be speaking from the dead. Both are arrogant sons of bitches who don't know how to handle themselves in public, and they have absolutely no sense of marketing.
3. The Obama factor. I always said that if Obama went to Copenhagen, we'd get it. Turns out, I was wrong. He needed to go to Copenhagen and spend a lot of time kissing a lot of ass. The IOC is an organization that loves having its ego stroked by forcing world leaders to jump through hoops. Tony Blair brought the Olympics to London because he devoted a week to schmoozing. Obama didn't have that luxury. Personally, I don't think he was all that committed to the games to begin with, so he did the minimum he thought he could get away with. The IOC wanted much more.
5. There was no groundswell of local support. Even those who wanted the games only sort of wanted the games. Those who didn't want the games were far more vocal. (Win for them)
6. Anti-American sentiment. The world, especially Europe, just doesn't like us very much right now.
4. This will be the controversial one, but I simply don't think Chicago is a world-class city ... or at least it doesn't come off as one. We are known world-wide for our corruption. We have a crappy public transit system, compared to New York, London, and Paris. There is the sense that pieces of the city are falling into chaos, charmingly represented just last week by a kid killed by a 2X4 on camera. You might say Rio's problems are worse, but the world doesn't measure Rio by the same standards by which it measures us, and rightfully so. We are THE superpower, the representative of civilization around the world, and as such, we're expected to have our shit together. The city spectacularly does not have its shit together. When people think of us, they think of Al Capone, of Daddy Daley's cops beating up hippies, of Rod Blagojevich in his jumpsuit, and of a kid having his head smashed in. We simply are not ready for the world stage.
By the way, I know I can't count. I switched the order around, but forgot to fix the numbers.
When people think of us, they think of Al Capone, of Daddy Daley's cops beating up hippies, of Rod Blagojevich in his jumpsuit, and of a kid having his head smashed in.
And tiny Eastern European-born barmaids getting beat up by big fat Chicago cops.
Hear Hear (Here Here?). It was a done deal before Obama showed up. His last minute maneuver may have put some members off instead of turning them on--your #s 1 and 2 are spot on. His presence only heightened Daley and Ryan's tired "Chicahgah fur da peepul" spiel.
Yes as well to your #4(6).. when it comes to violence, a lot of the world is frankly disappointed to see that Chicago's days of Capone mayhem are gone. Modern Rio has everything and more that Chicago offered 70 years ago. While Chicago offers depressing images of poor kids beating each other to death for no apparent reason, Rio has honest-to-god gangsters ruling fiefdoms with politicians and cops in their pockets cowering in fear, while whacking whoever looks sideways. All in a paradise setting. What more could a tourist want? Its all so dangerous and exciting.
I think it's also worth noting that one of the reasons so many people connected to drugs and law enforcement are being slaughtered in Mexico and South America is due to the United States' insatiable appetite for drugs and our insistence on treating drugs internally as a moral issue instead of a medical one.
Yes!!!! Now that we have lost the Games the City now has all this money to fix our problems. Fix the streets, hire back all the city workers laid off, fix our schools, stop all the crime, and create new jobs. We now have the money to fix Chicago? We saved millions of dollars by not getting the games? Lets get to work, the world is watching. Oh, oh wait… There is no one watching Chicago any more. Alright, business as usual.
There is no one watching Chicago any more.
Only a person who doesn't love this city would think that Chicago is now insignificant because they didn't get the Game. You should move.
Lets get to work, the world is watching. Oh, oh wait… There is no one watching Chicago any more. Alright, business as usual.
You missed the sarcasm, Stealth. The quote meant that nothing is going to get fixed, now that Daley isn't pimping the city (and strutting himself) for the IOC anymore.
I love that all these people have so much pride in their city as to come down to Daley Plaza and dump their litter all over the place.
Me? I love this city. Loved it before Mayor Daley and his cronies started flogging their logs about the Olympics, loved it during and love it still. It's a beautiful city, a great city, fine people and I can't think of anywhere I'd rather live.
Now let's drive Richie and all the other snakes into the sea in 2011 for just this kind of BULLSHIT and make a great city even better.
And is Billy Dec on suicide watch?
Glad Chicago lost. Love the city, hate it's corrupt politicians who would've ended up deep pocketing most of the millions of dollars in revenue/backroom deals/etc. with the average working-class tax-paying joe not seeing a cent, but most likely footing the bill.
Why hasn't the media showed photos of the other side of the fence, all those people celebrating Chicago's losing the bid? I'll bet there were far more happy people than sad ones.