Chicago Olympics - -

[Rickman]

Everything on the news this morning is about today being "Decision Day" by the Olympic Comittee as to where the next Olympics will be held!
They're showing the speaches by the Obamas, Opra, and Mayor Daley!
What's the thought by you people - Chicago or not?

 

[eroomlorac]

I think Chicago will get it. Whether it's a good thing or not, I don't know. And just for the record......Oprah drives me NUTS. She's the female version of Jesse Jackson, wherever there's a camera, there they are. In fact, I'm surprised Jesse Jackson isn't in Copenhagen, too. I'm afraid the financial burden will fall on the people of Chicago or Cook County if and when the city's Olympic budget is not adequate enough to cover all they're going to need to do to get ready for the Olympics. I'm glad I live far enough away from the City so as to hopefully not be too affected but maybe see some of the games. If the bicycling competitions are going to be in Madison, as I've heard, I might be interested in attending that. My granddaughter will be 11 years old at that time and I think the perfect age to bring her to some of the games.

 

[alli713]

I hadn't heard much about it even up here.

Edited.. I was hoping it would be the winter olympics so we could go down and watch hockey, but it looks like it's for the summer olympics?

 

[Sandi]

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/10/barack-obama-arrives-in-copenhagen.html

2016 Olympics

1st round of votes are closed

 

[Sandi]

Chicago is out of contention

 

[Rickman]

CHICAGO JUST ELIMINATED IN THE FIRST VOTE!!!
AFTER ALL PREDICTIONS SAYING IT WOULD COME DOWN TO CHICAGO vs. RIO!!!
Utterly ridiculous!!

 

[Sandi]

It's really not ridiculous, some of these countries have been applying several times. I had mixed feelings from the beginning since I'm in Cook County and our taxes are one of the highest in the nation! Our sales tax is almost 11% on most retail items :crazy:, our gas prices were also one of the highest and don't even get me started on the property tax hikes. But I really liked the thought of taking my girls to the olympics, oh well. Who's going to foot the 48 million dollar bill that we already accumulated?

 

[eroomlorac]

Wow, I can't believe it. I thought it was OURS!!! And I was wrong about Jesse Jackson......he did show up at Daley Center and was on the Chicago TV stations. I knew he wouldn't miss this chance. :rofl:

 

[tunes]

CHICAGO JUST ELIMINATED IN THE FIRST VOTE!!!
AFTER ALL PREDICTIONS SAYING IT WOULD COME DOWN TO CHICAGO vs. RIO!!!
Utterly ridiculous!!

I moved to SD 10 YEARS ago. In all that time, Chicago hasn't managed to fix the freaking interstate between here and there, and you think they can handle the Olympics?? Traffic will be backed up for miles, making you wait for hours because they can't fix a road and you think they should get the Olympics?

Not even close.

Oh, and it was perfect timing with that young teen being beaten to death with 4 x 4's and curb stomping, by a group of his peers, and someone kindly videotaping it so it could be released to the press. That would certainly make me want to consider Chicago for such an event.

 

[Rickman]

Oh come on, Peggy, they fix it EVERY YEAR!! The government WON"T let them use the 20 yr. asphalt used in Europe, because it'd put "too many out of work"!
Yeah - a normal 1/2 hr. trip should take an hour or more on a sunny summer day - guess it helps your gas mileage, since they'll get more taxes!!
Another 'circle-of-life' in Chicagoland!

 

[Sandi]

Oh, and it was perfect timing with that young teen being beaten to death with 4 x 4's and curb stomping, by a group of his peers, and someone kindly videotaping it so it could be released to the press. That would certainly make me want to consider Chicago for such an event.

I was going to mention this but got all riled up with all the tax crap. Another teen had his skull fractured yesterday by gang members but this one happened on the north side of the city. I know that the competing cities have their own issues with violence but I live here. My nephew and godson is a City of Chicago police officer, I diapered this man when he was a baby and now he patrols the same neighborhood where this mob of teens and gang members killed that boy. It is like another world in this neighborhood, Roseland and Englewood are in the news almost daily. My nephew has changed, I believe, because of what he sees and deals with daily at his job. It's the same neighborhood that Jennifer Hudson's family was murdered in. It just kills me that all this money has been spent on the possibility of hosting the olympics when it could have gone to a better use.

 

[lauralynne]

I like what my friend Deron said on FB:
Hosting the Olympics is like throwing a dinner party. It’s expensive and you inevitably have to invite people over that you don’t like. I’m glad the US was eliminated…let the world pay the billions and billions of dollars for it, because we ......have other needs/priorities. Plus, we can watch the underage Chinese gymnasts win the gold on television no matter where it's hosted.

 

[jags]

Worse yet try flying in and out of Chicago! They really can not get that right!

 

[AZChins]

Yeah, it's expensive and why have it in Chicago? To show off? It's okay...let Rio have it.