Results tagged “olympicvillage”

Chicago 2016: Let Corruption Shine?

The Tribune has discovered that Michael Scott has more of an interest in the Olympics than civic pride. Scott, a Chicago 2016 committee member, president of the Chicago Public Schools and a "friend of Richie", also served as a consultant to a condominium developer near the proposed Olympic Village site, a deal that could result in the project being worth far more than it currently is. For his part, Scott says that there's no conflict, given the depth of his role in the project. "I had no financial interest. I didn't do any real work," Scott told the Tribune. This, of course, is all in addition to the story from earlier this summer that Scott owns land located near the proposed Olympic cycling venue, something that Scott and others have said was not a conflict of interest.

Extra, Extra

After reworking the deal to appease aldermen who were worried about a lack of minority- and women-owned contracts, Mayor Daley's plan for the $1.1 billion Olympic Village at the site of Michael Reese Hospital has been passed by a City Council committee and is expected to be passed by the entire Council later today. The change: "Instead of demanding that union apprentices fill 5 percent of the "worker hours in the building trades" generated by Olympic construction projects, Chicago 2016 will make its "best efforts" to achieve 10 percent." Several aldermen expressed concern after Chicago 2016 chairman Pat Ryan admitted earlier this week that minority-led companies have only accounted for six percent of contracts thus far.

Lest we should forget amongst talk of birth certificates, factory sit-ins, and clemency, the City of Chicago is still competing for the 2016 Summer Olympics and supporters got a boost today when Chicago 2016 Chairman Pat Ryan announced a deal with the property owner of Michael Reese Hospital has been restructured such that both parties can agree, meaning the proposed Olympic Village will go up on the site.

Under the new plan, Medline’s “charitable contribribution” will rise to $32.5 million. And instead the overall purchase price will rise by $1 million — to $86 million.

Photo by BrianHagy

The Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center site is being considered for redevelopment as the Olympic Village, moving the proposed site west off the lakefront. Colliers Bennett & Kahnweiler Inc. has already received bids on the land, which Medline Industries Inc., Michael Reese's parent company, is trying to unload. The hospital is in discussions with Cook County to form a potential partnership, although no formal agreement has been reached yet. Among the benefits of moving...

Former WKQX-FM 101.1 radio host Erich "Mancow" Muller filed a lawsuit Tuesday against his former employer, saying radio officials disparaged his show and blocked him from getting other work. We are getting pretty sick of the cell phone drivers, but we are always amazed at the cell phone bikers (not in a good way). Yesterday, an 19-year-old woman who was struck and killed by a garbage truck on the Northwest Side, was apparently talking...

- BREAKING: The Tribune and Sun-Times agree to a historic distribution deal where the Bright One contracts the Tribune to handle most of its delivery. More on this tomorrow after we've had time to let this one sink in. - A Dallas real estate investment firm is thisclose to signing off on an $850 million deal for four downtown office buildings, including 440 S. LaSalle, aka One Financial Place. - United Airlines files lawsuits...

There are a lot of ways to make money playing poker on the World Poker Tour circuit. To do it successfully, you have to consistently play good poker. Occasionally, you can get a string of good luck, and sometimes you can get away with being aggressive and the master of the bluff. Poker personality Mike "The Mouth" Matusow and recent 2006 World Series of Poker Champion Jamie Gold are two prime examples of people who have mastered the latter. They are also two examples of people who can easily go on tilt at the poker table and can blow a huge stack of chips in a short amount of time.

We here at Chicagoist haven't been shy about our skepticism of bringing the Olympics to Chicago. So we weren't too shocked to see, less than two weeks after Mayor Daley coasted to re-election, that the US Olympic Committee wanted the city to have "some skin in the game," committing the city (and therefore taxpayers) to guarantee the games to the tune of half a billion dollars. On Monday what's left of the city council took...

So recently, Chicagoist reported that the much-vaunted 2016 Summer Olympics stadium contender was moving from around Soldier Field/McCormick Place to Washington Park on the South Side. Hrm, the woefully underfunded South Side instead of hoity-toity Lincoln Park or the crowded lakefront? That changes things a little, we said. We stroked our collective chins. Debates raged, and dander flew. Now Daley & Co. have added more fuel to the fire by making their bid public.

"Sweet Pussy" by pantagrapher

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