MORE OLYMPIC BULLSH*T

As usual, Ben Joravsky of the Chicago Reader knows what's up. His article this week provides a timeline of Daley's dance around the truth about how much the Olympics will cost and who will pay for them: On the Hook: Did Mayor Daley ever really believe the public wouldn't have to pay for the Olympics?

Let’s take a moment to doff our hats to the International Olympic Committee, which has accomplished what no one in Chicago—not the press, the City Council, other politicians, or the voters—ever has: it’s made Mayor Daley tell the truth about city finances.

On June 17 the IOC wrested a public confession from Daley that the city of Chicago would have to guarantee any cost overruns if it ends up hosting the 2016 games—even if the ultimate price tag is in the billions of dollars.

It’s a conclusion realists quickly reached after Daley began unveiling his Olympic dreams in the fall of 2006. But that was just months before the February 2007 mayoral election, and back then he promised that not one dime of public money would be used for the games.

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Well, you know what happened. And just in case you forgot, let me remind you. The mayor was reelected in 2007 with more than 70 percent of the vote. And within two weeks he flip-flopped on his no-public-money pledge.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Mayor Daley is a liar. DO NOT TRUST THE MAN. Don't trust him when he says the Olympics will only cost $4 billion. Don't trust him when he says the Olympics will be privately funded. Simple rule - if it involves money, don't trust him. Chicago taxpayers will pay. And my guess is, it will be a lot more than the $500 million and $250 million already pledged by the city and state, respectively.

Mick Dumke also reports on the private meetings Chicago 2016 and the mayor have held with Chicago aldermen, offering up a great quote from an unnamed alderman:

In closed-door meetings with aldermen, mayoral aides tried to get everyone on message. “These ‘briefings’ were bullshit—we were just given a list of talking points to help us pitch this thing,” one alderman told me. “I said, ‘You have got to be kidding—you think that’s going to work?’ I’ve supported the Olympics bid, but no one believes anything they say anymore.”

You hear that Chicago? Bullshit! Don't believe the hype.