Well, shit. Did we learn nothing from last year's 2016 Olympic debacle? Let's hope so because a new report in today's Tribune highlights Chicago as "the most viable candidate" should the USOC decide to bid on the 2020 games. Apparently, the failure to land the 2016 Olympics has provided the USOC with plenty of lessons to learn from and while no announcement has been made, we can't help but think, "Not again." Also helping matter for Chicago's chances to be selected by the USOC? The fact that they actually have a plan in place and the timeline for that city selection favors taking that plan and tweaking it: the USOC would have to present a candidate city in 2011 and the IOC would select the 2020 host in 2013. more ›

The final income tax returns on Chicago's failed Olympic bid are in, and what an expensive adventure it was! According to the Tribune, the effort raised $75.9 million while spending $59.4 million, leaving $16.5 million left over. This contradicts other media reports which claim the city spent either $70.6 million (Crain's) or $72.8 million (Sun-Times) on the bid with a leftover chunk of change around $6.8 million. But either way, that's a hefty chunk of cash. more ›

Six months after the loss of the 2016 Olympic bid, Michael Reese Hospital, the planned site in Bronzeville for the Olympic Village is a thirty-seven-acre deconstruction site and the future remains uncertain. This week, NewCity took an excellent in-depth look at what's next (or not) for the site. The city took over the Michael Reese Hospital’s thirty buildings last July with plans to demolish most of it for the Olympic site, which upset local preservationists. They formed the Gropius in Chicago Coalition led by architect Grahm Balkany with hopes to save his work. Even though the Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Council voted unanimously to add the site to the National Register of Historic Places, the demolition had already begun and only two buildings are planned to remain, a plan that was the subject of scrutiny. more ›

The fallout from Chicago 2016's first-round failure continues as the USOC announced this weekend that they won't be making another run at the Summer Olympics in 2020. New USOC head Scott Blackmun has been shaking hands and kissing IOC babies in Vancouver during the Winter Olympics in an effort to repair the tarnished image of the USOC that many say cost Chicago any shot at the 2016 Games, which included an attempt to launch their own TV network and fights with the IOC over revenue sharing. Blackmun said over the weekend: more ›

Greg Hinz over at Crain's Chicago Business reports that Patrick Sandusky will be leaving the Windy City for greener pastures. The man who led Chicago's successful much heralded well-received failed 2016 Summer Olympic bid has been named the U.S. Olympic Committee's new Chief Communications Officer. Sandusky, who graduated from Northern Illinois University and, according to Hinz, lettered in football, will be moving to Colorado Springs, Colorado for the gig. more ›

It seems the only Olympic hangover in regards to the City of Chicago's part of the U.S. 2018/2022 World Cup bid was being felt by the city itself. The Chicago News Coop is reporting this morning that it wasn't so much that Chicago wasn't selected as a host city in the U.S.'s final but rather that the city demanded it be taken off the list. Earlier this week, the bid committee (we got burnt out on that phrase a long time ago) announced the 18 cities that will be included in the U.S.'s final bid for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups. Chicago was not on the list while smaller cities like Indianapolis and Kansas City were. more ›

This week, we're counting down the top 9 stories of 2009 according to the Chicagoist staff. more ›

While we're counting down the Top 9 stories of 2009, what about the posts that you liked most? Which posts generated the most comments and likes? What had you guys talking, up in arms, complaining, or - occasionally - rationally discussing? Below are the top 10 most popular posts; you can check out the full list of the top 30 here. more ›

Boy, Daley sure has been in a crankypants mood lately -- besides laying into the media for creating a Snowpocalypse frenzy about the weather yesterday, last Thursday, at the final gathering of Chicago 2016 volunteers, a source said Daley went off on a "rant" and was visibly "angry." Over 150 people were at the private meeting and reception at the Aon Center, and four anonymous attendees gave the scoop to the Trib as to what went on. Daley's biggest beef about losing the 2016 Olympic bid? That he was clearly beaten at his own game:

"He started by saying we spent $75 million, and the next city was going to have to spend $100 million, and we didn't even have a chance," said one attendee, paraphrasing the mayor, who was the driving force behind the bid. "It was all politics and all money. All politics and all money. [The IOC] didn't care about the athletes, and they didn't care about the quality of the bid."

Judicial Watch, a "conservative, non-partisan educational foundation, [that] promotes transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and the law," is preparing to file a lawsuit against the city of Chicago to force them to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request they filed in September of this year. The group had filed the request in order to obtain records involving Chicago's failed Olympic bid, specifically looking at the role President Obama and the White House played in the bid. more ›

Media outlets around the city are reporting that a body pulled from the Chicago River near Merchandise Mart early this morning is that of CPS Board of Education President Michael Scott. As of 9:00 a.m. this morning, police have yet to confirm the news but outlets such as the Tribune, Sun-Times, and ABC 7 (where Scott's wife, Diana Palomar, was vice president of community affairs) have reported the body as being Scott's. The body was discovered around 3:15 a.m. and Scott's car was found parked in a lot near the river; the body was pulled from the river around 4:30 a.m. Scott had last been seen yesterday evening around 6 p.m. after visiting his sister in a South Loop care facility, something family members said he did every Sunday. Scott's family later reported him missing. Neither police or the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office have confirmed the body was Scotts, though ABC 7 reports the CCME confirmed the body is an unidentified man, black, in his 50s. more ›

Despite a failed attempt at securing the 2016 Games in Chicago, Patrick Ryan still has work to do on the Olympics front. Ryan, who was the head of the Chicago Olympics bid, was named chairman of the board of World Sport Chicago on Thursday, an organization whose focus is to get Chicago youth to participate in the wide range of Olympic sports. Ryan had promised that the city's work for the Olympics wouldn't end with the failed bid and this new position will test that promise. more ›

Sure, we're over a month removed from the vote that sent shockwaves through the city (no matter what you thought of the bid), but we're just now starting to hear more information on what exactly went on in Copenhagen. The latest comes from Jack Kelly, of Lexington Kentucky and member of the 2016 bid. more ›

It's been three weeks since the Big Letdown but Mayor Daley hasn't been quick to move on from the disappointment of finishing last of the Final Four in 2016 Olympic voting. Speaking last week to the editorial board at Crain's, Daley pointed out the disparity between government support for U.S. candidate cities and support other governments give their candidates. more ›

Speaking at a DNC fundraiser last night in New York City, President Obama addressed criticism of his proposed health care reform but also took a moment to address criticism of his trip to Copenhagen on behalf of Chicago's 2016 Olympic bid. Said Obama of his whirlwind, transatlantic adventure: more ›

• The Cook County state's attorney's office is doing battle with Northwestern University's Medill Innocence Project over students' work in securing a new hearing for Anthony McKinney, who the project claims was wrongfully convicted for a 1978 murder.
• After months of pressure as a result of the Clout College scandal, University of Illinois chancellor Richard Herman announced his resignation, effective Monday.
• Anger is spreading over a fundraiser being held by the Fraternal Order of Police for Chicago Police officer Joseph Frugoli, who was charged with a DUI and reckless homicide for a drunk driving accident this past spring that claimed the lives of two men. Frugoli was off-duty at the time of the accident.

Chicago 2016 Olympic FAILGATE is starting to become a fleeting memory, which is why we're so glad we came upon this video before we fully move on to other things. If you're familiar with the various "Hitler bitches about..." Internet memes floating around the wasteland, then you already know some (all?) of the language is NSFW. more ›

In his first local press conference since Chicago lost its bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, Mayor Richard Daley declared that he would pay no political price for the loss, "none whatsoever." “You wrote my obituary, didn’t you? Some of you have, I guess,” the mayor told the press. “I don’t know why you already put me in the grave,” he said. “I know you’re all planning on it, don’t worry,” he said, after asking that we at least run a nice picture of him. more ›

With Chicago's Olympic hopes dashed, the local organization that dared us to Imagine Letting Friendship Shine will begin to close up shop. Chicago 2016 is expected to lay off nearly 60 members of its support staff, retaining a skeleton crew as it winds down operations by year's end. All of the brain power and dreamers, many collecting six-figure salaries from the organization, will go back to their corporate jobs or on to other lucrative jobs. What's left of Chicago 2016 will be dissolved, and its remaining finances will be donated to World Sport Chicago, who's mission is to "uphold and advance the Olympic ideals in every day life through active participation in Olympic and Paralympic sports" by bringing sports opportunities to Chicago youth. more ›

So here we are, three days later, and we're still scratching our heads as to what exactly happened. But, puzzled or not, we move on. We know we came close to becoming "Olympicsist" over the last few weeks, but it was an important event for this city, a city we love. The questions surrounding the failed bid will linger and the biggest consequences of that failure won't shake out for a while, possibly until February 2011. The topic will still come up from time to time here on the site, but, for now, we, like the rest of the city, move on. If you feel like accessing any of our previous coverage of the 2016 bid, this can be done via a search of the tags "Chicago 2016" and "Olympics." more ›

Between health care and the failed Chicago 2016 Olympics bid, we knew the honeymoon was probably over for President Obama. Even SNL has turned on Obama as evidenced by last night's opening skit. Politics aside, we couldn't help but chuckle at the Chicago 2016 t-shirt joke. more ›

The Obama administration has gone into spin control in regards to Obama's trip to Copenhagen to support Chicago 2016's failed Olympic bid and is using the classic, "Well, they told us it'd be fine" method. A report in this morning's Tribune reveals behind-the-scenes details describing the way in which the Chicago 2016 bid committee persuaded Obama to make his much-talked-about whirlwind trip to Copenhagen on behalf of the city's bid. Worried that the heated health care bill would head to the floor of either the House or Senate for debate with him in Europe, Obama was still hesitant to make the trip until a few days before he took off. more ›

• So what happened at the IOC vote? Some say blame the USOC though an Australian IOC rep thinks an Asian alliance may have teamed up to help Tokyo and hurting Chicago's bid as a result.
• Obama had a subdued, respectful reaction to the results - did we expect anything else - but the question as to how much this will impact his legacy looms.
• It took three hours after Chicago's first round bounce for Mayor Daley to surface, but he did and he was straight-forward in his thoughts on the bid: "I'm disappointed but you go on with your life."

The Tribune has the final tallies from the IOC's vote. Madrid was the surprise leader after round one but it seems most of those who voted for Chicago threw their support behind Rio come Round 2 and Tokyo supporters followed suit. more ›

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. more ›

In an announcement that means heartbreak for many but relief for others, the International Olympic Committee has awarded the 2016 Summer Olympics to Rio de Janeiro over Madrid. Chicago, as we all know by now, was eliminated first in a stunning development. more ›

Chicago 2016 has been eliminated in the first round in a stunning development. The crowd here at Daley Plaza is absolutely stunned. The crowd has thinned considerably and an alderman is trying to rally the remaining attendees. Most of the people remaining are walking around stunned. We'll have more photos and information as it becomes available. Speculation has already begun as to why not and now the memory of New York being eliminated in the second round for the 2012 Olympics is fresh on our minds. more ›

Hello from downtown Chicago. The festivities have been kicking here for not quite a half an hour or so and the cool weather hasn't dampened the spirits of the large crowd gathered here at a sunny Daley Plaza. We're still a little under an hour away from the start of the IOC's voting. Barring a huge upset, Chicago is expected to make it to the final round of voting, most likely against Rio. That means we won't find out who gets the Games until the official IOC announcement at 11:30 a.m. In the meantime, be sure to keep checking back with this post as we add more pics and updates from the festivities and count down to the big reveal. more ›

We're just a few scant hours away from learning who, exactly, will host the 2016 Summer Olympics and things are getting heated. An American source told CNN the battle between Rio and Chicago is "close as hell." Still, representatives for long-shots Tokyo and Madrid are also still going all out for the bid. Need a quick cram session so you can wow the coworkers around the water cooler with your 2016 bid knowledge before the big announcement? Then check out our candidate city profiles: Chicago; Tokyo; Madrid; and Rio. more ›

Good morning, Chicago. We're awaiting the start of Chicago 2016's final presentation before the International Olympic Committee. You can follow along at the official Olympics website or watch the presentation live on any of the main network affiliates or their websites. We'll hit the highlights below. more ›