City leaders’ dreams that the 2016 Olympics would come to Chicago ended in October, but their hopes for the economic development, job creation and neighborhood expansion the Games would have brought to the city are alive and well.
On a snowy afternoon on Feb. 9 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Chicago’s Neighborhood Development Awards hosted...
Read more »
2016 Olympics
Leaders Envision Chicago’s 2016 in “Back to the Future” Panel
Chicago Waits: One Week Until Olympic Announcement, Site of Potential Olympic Village Set for Demolition
The countdown is on. In less than a week Chicagoans–and the rest of the world–will know which city will the host the 2016 Summer Olympics.
The campus of the Michael Reese Hospital, targeted as a potential Olympic Village should Chicago win the bid, is set for demolition. Some preservationists remain upset, believing that the hospital...
Read more »
Aldermen Make Financial Pledge, Taxpayers Could Pay for Olympics
The Chicago City Council on Wednesday unanimously voted for a measure that saddles taxpayers with the bill if the 2016 Olympic Games lose money.
The law authorizes Mayor Richard Daley to sign off on a contract that puts full financial liability for the Games on the city should Chicago next month be named the host...
Read more »
Health Concerns About Demolition At Proposed Olympic Village
Terry Clark has lived at the Prairie Shores apartment complex in Bronzeville for 43 years. For the last couple of weeks though, his allergies have flared up, making it difficult for him to breathe, and causing headaches, and a runny nose.
Clark attributes the flare-up to the trees and shrubs being dug up at the...
Read more »
Olympics Road Show Makes Stop In Rogers Park
By James Ginderske of The Urban Coaster
The Chicago 2016 committee gave a presentation at the 49th ward selected location of the Rogers Park library on August 5 revealing little in the way of new information while conveying a local version of their city-wide effort to market the bid to Chicago neighborhoods.
In a 45-minute presentation...
Read more »
Olympic Legacies: Give or Take?
Chicago’s historic parks and its rich architectural legacy are among the strongest selling points for promoters seeking to attract the 2016 Summer Olympics to this city.
In selling the games to Chicago’s residents, meanwhile, promises of park enhancements and sports programs for kids, as well as affordable housing, have been featured alongside visions of jobs...
Read more »
Architectural Legacy Threatened
Continued from Part 1: Parks
There are parks, schools, and community institutions that could be impacted if the Olympic Village is built on the site of Michael Reese Hospital.
At 3113 S. Rhodes, Pershing East Elementary sits exactly where the Chicago 2016 bid book shows a “transport mall” in the Village. Though the school does not...
Read more »