Dear Members of the International Olympic
Let me explain.
Faith in the predictions that the games would be an economic boon for Chicago is exactly that: faith. Science doesn’t support them. As my colleague Deanna Isaacs wrote a couple of weeks ago, studies have found that the games have a marginal impact on the local economy—one study, produced by the European Tour Operators Association, even concluded that “there appears to be little evidence of any benefit to tourism of hosting an Olympic Games, and considerable evidence of damage.” Just last week the Anderson Economic Group, an independent research and consulting firm, released a report designed to let area businesses know more about the probable impact of hosting the 2016 Olympics. They concluded that the games could yield $4.4 billion in economic benefits—a not insubstantial sum, but less than a quarter of the $22 billion the mayor’s office and the Chicago 2016 bid committee have been trumpeting.
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In either case, the decision won’t come until after you make your October 2 announcement.
Give us the games and you run the risk of replacing the parking meter operators as everybody’s favorite whipping boys—the most convenient scapegoat for all the service cuts and tax hikes people will be facing.
Of course, you will undoubtedly hear a different story from the dignitaries Mayor Daley brings to Copenhagen. Everyone from Oprah to President Obama will be telling you it’s all hunky-dory in Chicago. Don’t believe them. I doubt they believe it themselves.
