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 ›

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 ›