OLYMPICS DEBATE HITS NATIONAL STAGE

Did you see the New York Times piece on Mayor Daley and his Olympic dreams? It seems the national media has caught wind of the local opposition that has taken hold with Daley's promise to sign Chicago taxpayers up for an unlimited monetary guarantee for the Olympics. Recession Shadowing Chicago Bid for Games:

To hear Ms. Healey and other bid leaders tell it, there is no downside...Organizers say private financial support is mounting, with $60 million raised so far for the bid, and no city dollars are expected to be needed for either the bid or the Games.

On that last point, however, residents of Chicago seem skeptical. They have heard promises before.

This spring, a $1.15 billion deal to privatize the city’s parking meter system turned into a fiasco after City Hall’s inspector general called it a dubious financial deal and after motorists said they poured money into fancy new meters that, in turn, spat out error messages. A few years ago, Millennium Park, a downtown centerpiece, opened behind schedule and millions of dollars over budget.

“You all are projecting we’re going to make a lot of money,” a resident, Robin Kaufman, told Olympics planners at a neighborhood meeting, one in a series intended to shore up support. “But the bankers were projecting they were going to make a lot of money. Bernie Madoff was predicting he was going to make a lot of money.”

Ms. Kaufman lifted a sign that read, “No Blank Checks.”

At a high school auditorium on the West Side, where the bid leaders showed glossy Olympics schematics and stood beside toned former Olympians, Stephanie Patton asked, “Why should we trust you?”

A big thank you to the New York Times for their attention to this matter. (And thanks also for mentioning the parking meter mess and Millennium Park.) Hopefully the IOC is paying attention as well.