Manny Flores on the Olympics

By Kevin Robinson in News on Aug 4, 2009 2:20PM

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.

1. Authorize an independent oversight committee that will have regular access to financial statements and contracts. This committee should be composed of respected civic, business and law enforcement officials who have no financial ties to City Hall or the 2016 committee, and should be staffed by an independent compliance office that can regularly monitor the Games' finances and practices.
2. Implement a process for contract bidding that allows citizens to easily learn who is being awarded contracts, how much each is worth, and what work is being done. This should include a full listing of contractors and subcontractors, and should be completed before any contracts are awarded.
3. Publish financial disclosure and conflict of interest forms for Olympic committee members -- just as all elected officials do -- by Sept. 15.
4. Publish all committee and public expenditures related to the Games onto an open and searchable database on a quarterly basis.
5. Disclose funding commitments to cover the Games' expenses and outline protections that will be in place to limit the liability for Chicago taxpayers, including the proposed insurance policy to cover cost-overruns. This information should be made available immediately.

Whether the bid committee will agree to these points, or if the city council will pass Flores's ordinance remains to be seen. But as Flores says in his editorial, "only with an open process can we be guaranteed that the needs of communities are met and that taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly. Now is the time for Chicago to set the highest standard for transparent and accountable leadership." With corruption and waste seemingly rampant in Chicago right now, it's a sentiment that we couldn't agree with more.