Daley's Legacy

I understand that the best way to get something done in Chicago is to get Mayor Richard M. Daley’s support. Just think about the various projects and activities that most people didn’t think was possible: Millennium Park, singlehandedly closing Meigs Field, Lower Wacker reconstruction, cleaning up the city, expanding O’hare Airport (multiple times) and holding his office from 1989 until present day. Let’s face it – if we want to get the 2016 Olympics in Chicago we need the support of Chicago’s number 1 leader – Mayor Richard M. Daley.

I believe that luring the Olympics to Chicago would elevate Mayor Daley from the ranks of great mayors into the ranks of legendary mayors.

So far, Mayor Daley has shown some level of interest in bringing the Olympics to Chicago. This past summer he announced that Chicago will make a bid to host the 2016 Olympics. It is anticipated that the IOC will start to collect bids in 2007 so there is time for Chicago to get its act together. But what do we really need to show in order to get Mayor Daley’s full support for the 2016 Chicago Olympics? In short, Mayor D will need to be able to demonstrate to his electorate, to the Chicago City Council and to the State of Illinois that the Olympics will provide more benefits than negatives for Chicago. I am not going to fully outline these arguments right now in this post, but it is clear to me that the benefits will far outweigh the negatives. The benefits will include improved public transportation and mass transit, new facilities, increased tourism and exposure to the world, and tax, TV and tourism revenue. The negatives will include the costs of building out facilities and infrastructure, the disruption of construction and the crowds that will descend on Chicago during the summer of 2016.

If Mayor Daley can demonstrate that the citizenry is behind him and that the benefits to Chicago outweigh the negatives, then I am certain that he will throw his full weight and support behind the project. My goal is to help Mayor Daley build the citizen support that will be vital to this effort. I encourage you to post your comments here and voice your support in all other available venues for bringing the Olympics to Chicago.