It's not a big secret (at least in Chicago) who stands to win if the city gets to host the 2016 Summer Games. Billions of dollars in construction contracts, the real estate transactions, and the concession agreements will be up for grabs. And that's just the official, big dollar stuff. But what if Chicago doesn't get the Olympics? Who stands to lose? Aside from the political implications for Mayor Daley (and if you listen carefully, you can hear the knives being sharpened, just in case), President Barack Obama has certainly raised the stakes by heading to Denmark to lobby for his hometown. more ›

Brazil's Olympic promoters are fanning the flames of comments made last week by Mayor Daley regarding the competition between cities to host the 2016 Games. Daley minimized the odds of Tokyo and Madrid, based on geography, and dismissed Rio's bid chances in light of their hosting the World Cup in 2014. When asked last week if Rio hosting the World Cup would help it's bid for the 2016 Games, Daley said ``I don't think so. The World Cup is completely different than the Olympics,'' adding. ``that's all soccer stadiums, it's completely different. They don't have all the other events there that we have.'' The IOC prohibits bid cities from criticizing rivals. more ›

Crain's Chicago Business took a look at the insurance policy the City Council authorized that Mayor Daley's consigliere Jack Ryan to procure against Olympic losses, and the outlook is downright frightening. According to Crain's, the insurance policy "would cover only about $1.1 billion of the $3.8-billion operating budget that the mayor's Olympic point man has drawn up for the games." more ›

Mayor Daley's pilgrimage to the south lawn of the White House Wednesday appeared to clear up what has been the subject of much speculation of late: will Obama be going to Copenhagen? The answer: no. That's bad news for Mayor Daley; while it's still plausible that Chicago will get the games (or that the always politically shrewd Barack Obama will show up in Copenhagen anyway) without the American president, and potentially millions of federal dollars in security, logistics and infrastructure, Rio's bid is looking especially attractive. more ›

Following a course similar to previous transparency ordinances that he's proposed, 1st Ward Alderman Manny Flores, along with Leslie Hairston (5th), Eugene Schulter (47th) and Joe Moore (49th), introduced the long awaited Olympics oversight ordinance (PDF). City Hall introduced a competing proposal that would put two aldermen on the organizing committee for the games if Chicago wins the 2016 bid. Flores's ordinance establishes three levels of oversight, including a City Council oversight committee and authority for the city's inspector general to monitor the games. The Flores ordinance also requires Olympic committee members who earn more than $50,000 to publicly disclose their financial dealings with the games. more ›

On Wednesday, the city's 2016 Olympic bid committee, issued a statement saying that they would all feel a lot better if Michael Scott had just been more upfront about his involvement in plans to redevelop a parcel of land near Douglas Park, the proposed site for an Olympic cycling venue. "It would have been preferable if Mr. Scott had disclosed this situation so that the matter could have been vetted by the Chicago 2016 Audit Committee and any perception of conflict could have been avoided," the statement from Chicago 2016 said. It added that Scott also "intends to submit a revised conflict of interest statement outlining his role with the proposed development and affirming that he has had no financial gain from the project and intends to accelerate his separation as agent for the group." more ›

File this under color us surprised: Chicago's 2016 bid committee has determined that Michael Scott, Mayor Daley's President of the Chicago Board of Education, has no conflict of interest in developing a piece of city-owned real estate across from Douglas Park. Scott was served a federal subpoena earlier this month over his alleged role in clouted admissions to elite public schools. He's also part of the mayor's team working to bring the Olympics to Chicago. The Tribune published an investigation last week into Scott's role in redeveloping a parcel of land near a proposed Olympic cycling venue. more ›

As the date of the formal announcement of which city will host the 2016 Summer Olympics approaches, it seems that there are still unanswered questions about who will finance the Games and how it will all be paid for. Among the members of the city council, 1st Ward Alderman Manny Flores has been perhaps one of the most outspoken proponents of transparency and accountability in the bid process. Flores has already introduced an ordinance that would cap the city's liabilities for the Games at $500 million, the amount previously approved by the city council. Now Flores is raising the stakes in his calls for accountability for the Games. In an editorial published in the Tribune yesterday, he outlines five points that he believes will protect taxpayers and provide the protections needed to support a city guarantee for the Games. more ›

That's the persistent question as the date for selecting the city that will host the 2016 Summer Games draws near. Bid backers in Chicago contend that the Games will bring jobs, an economic boost and international prestige to the city, all at little or no cost to taxpayers. Chicago 2016 has also claimed that support from the private sector coupled with world class management will ensure that Chicago will benefit from hosting the games. Within that debate, however, supporters haven't pointed to a city that has benefited from hosting the games. Montreal didn't finish paying off the billions of dollars of debt it had incurred in 1976 until 2006. More recently Greece teetered on the edge of failing to host the Olympics in 2004 when the government failed to complete construction on time. London is already billions of dollars over budget. more ›

Citing Chicago's "long history of being unable to contain special project costs" and the violation of the "initial promise that 'not a dime' of taxpayer money would be used", Independent Voters of Illinois - Independent Precinct Organizations (IVI-IPO) board members have voted not to support the city's bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games. In a statement released to the press late yesterday, IVI-IPO urged city council members to vote against authorizing Mayor Daley to sign the host city contract with the IOC on October 1. more ›

In a rare moment of aldermanic clarity, it seems some members of the city council don't believe what they're being told about the city's Olympic bid. Led by 1st Ward Alderman Manny Flores, a group of aldermen are asking for an independent third-party auditor to look through the city's bid book for potential cost overruns. "It is critically important that we pursue the bid in a financially responsible manner and also in a manner where we provide full transparency for the city of Chicago, and fully vetting and evaluating the merits of the Games," Flores told CBS2. "That's what the residents of the city want," Flores said. "They want the assurance they're not going to be put on the hook long term." more ›