Chicago Olympics 2016 bid facing demands

from this morning's Crain's Chicago Business (8/18):

Grabbing for gold

By John Pletz
Aug. 18, 2008

"With the cheers of Beijing's Olympics crowds ringing in his ears, Mayor Richard M. Daley returned home last week to a chorus of demands from local groups looking to capitalize on his own Olympics dream.
Hyde Parkers want better train service to the Loop. South Side activists want jobs. Neighborhood groups are pushing for affordable housing around Washington Park, proposed site of the stadium for the 2016 Summer Games Mr. Daley hopes to host.

"We are forcing ourselves on the (Olympics bid) committee," says Alderman Leslie Hairston of the 5th Ward, where transportation and parking are the big issues. "The Olympics is in our backyards and front yards."

Ordinarily, such groups would have little influence with the mayor. But they're feeling a rare surge of clout as the importance of their support for Chicago's bid becomes clearer. International Olympic Committee officials choosing a city to host the 2016 games are looking for the kind of grass-roots enthusiasm Beijing residents have shown this month for the 29th Olympiad." ...

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