Gibbs on Chicago Olympics Crony bid: “Tangible economic benefits;” Jarrett seeking federal HUD funds
At the White House briefing today, spokesman Robert Gibbs touted the “tangible economic benefits” of the Obamas’ Chicago Crony Olympics bid.
Well, there would certainly be “tangible economic benefits” for certain Chicago crony developers — like Michael Scott, Jr.
And fellow business crony Gerald Fogelson.
The Chicago Tribune reported last week:
A key member of Mayor Richard Daley’s Olympic committee has a long business relationship with a developer vying to build the billion-dollar Olympic Village, the grandest piece of Chicago’s plans for the 2016 Summer Games.
Chicago 2016 committee member Michael Scott also served as a consultant to the developer on a condominium project near the proposed athletes village, a development that would increase in value if the city wins the Olympics.
Scott, who negotiated key components of the $1.2 billion Olympic Village plan, said his business relationship with the developer, Gerald Fogelson, does not interfere with his role with the bid team. Chicago 2016 officials declined to say whether Scott’s relationship with Fogelson was a problem, with Daley’s Olympic team poised to spend billions of dollars in coming years.
But Scott’s multiple roles as a private developer, mayoral confidant and member of the city’s Olympic committee raises anew concerns about insider dealings in a city where Daley allies have long benefited from civic projects the mayor champions. City Hall insiders for years have profited under Daley’s administration in myriad deals, from minority contracting to leasing trucks to scooping up prime city-owned land.
Scott, who works out of Fogelson’s office, acknowledged he did work on the ongoing Eastgate Village condominium project, but said he provided limited services — free — as a favor to the millionaire developer.
“I had no financial interest. I didn’t do any real work,” Scott said.
Fogelson also described Scott’s work as a favor. “He’s a longtime friend. He offices here. He’s done us favors. We’ve done him favors,” Fogelson said Thursday. “We have other business dealings with him that date back a long time.”
As for taxpayers, expect to get soaked.
De facto Olympics czar Valerie Jarrett — whose own real estate vested interests in the Olympics you’ll remember reading about in Culture of Corruption — met this month with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to figure out how to put the public on the hook for some of the Olympic Village financing.
Chicago and the Obama administration are exploring ways the federal government can bolster the city’s bid for the 2016 Olympic Games with financial support for the $1-billion Olympic Village.
Crain’s has learned that senior presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett and Lori Healey, president of the Chicago 2016 committee, met this month with top officials of the Department of Housing and Urban Development to discuss financing options for the village, the single biggest project — and question mark — in the city’s bid.
The main hurdle facing Chicago is coming up with a long-range plan for an Olympic Village that is commercially viable while meeting objectives of existing HUD programs that could be tapped for funds, such as low-income housing tax credits and grants or loan guarantees for community development, affordable housing or housing for seniors.
“I think it’s premature to talk about what the funding might be,” says Ms. Jarrett, a former co-chair of Chicago 2016 and city planning commissioner who now heads White House efforts to help Chicago’s bid. “A proposal has not been made to the federal government, but the administration is not closing the door” on anything, she adds. The administation “obviously (is) willing to meet and listen.”
I’ve reported on the false economic development promises of Olympics bids for years.
Flashback 2002: Olympic Boondoggle: Careful What You Wish For
Olympic pied pipers pooh-pooh pessimistic economic forecasts and insist the games are a net winner. But experience around the world fails to back them up. Promises of increased tourism have never been fulfilled. Olympic buildings sit empty and abandoned. An investigation by the Toronto Star found that the 1988 Calgary Games were a huge money loser, contrary to the IOC’s claims that the event made a $90 million profit. An independent audit by the state of New South Wales estimated that the 2000 Sydney Games cost taxpayers $2.2 billion.
And that’s not including the countless business owners and residents who are inevitably displaced and evicted to make way for those gleaming sports palaces and villages.
In short, the Olympic bidding war is a losing plunge for the public — bad form, terrible execution and nothing but splash.
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Kewl! How about a townhall?
If any here does not think us taxpayers are going to fatten the wallets of this bho and team for the olympics, shame on you.
L
HUD funds??!! Unreal. What’s next? Food stamps for Olympian athletes? It’s a stimulus to the economy, dontcha know.
The President as Sugar Daddy. Hope and Change at its best.
I loves me a good poopie alliteration…
What cracks me up is they talk about ‘this administration’ and ‘2016′ as if…
Hey, let’s have a contest to finish that sentence.
1. they know something we don’t.
2. they won’t be in prison by then.
Why do you think he supports Manuel Zelaya space?
Food stamps for Olympian athletes? Why not, weapons for Hamas too. Hope and Change magazines Abdul, lots of Jews in Chicago–although the few I do know fight back Ahab. Just do not get between the Daley machine and all that money–bad idea Mockmood.
Chicago could introduce a new sport:
Synchronized Drive By Shootings! LA could field a team in time.
Gibbs is an idiot. The Copenhagen trip is a distraction from the health care debacle.
AZ-
Lets get the gangbangers from our nations toughest ‘hoods and let them shoot it out.
I’ve got dibs on the thugs from San Antonio, TX. If those thugs ever came together as a team, they would rival our military and it wouldn’t be pretty.
GSP
Uh, sorry, Michelle.
Los Angeles made more than $200,000,000 from the 1984 Olympics.
There was nothing magical – just common sense. Use whatever is already in place to minimize construction costs.
In grad school I remember doing a “net financial analysis” on publicaly funded football stadiums around the country. None of the stadiums we looked at were positive. Admittedly, there may have been add-on effects which we didn’t consider, but the initial outlay is so huge, that very few revenue streams even stand a chance to make the net present value positive. This of course explains why the private sector always seeks public assistance when building stadiums instead of just doing it by themselves.
So is the year-round school year. Split the mob by getting some of them to chase red meat flung about here and there. Fortunately we can multi-task!!!
Come on people, the calls for truth in politics has been deafening, and here it is in quotes and no one acknowledges it!
A very truthful explanation of how things get done in Chicago.
I remember once when my daughter got married and he came to me and asked for a favor….
That’s true. You’ve mentioned it many times, and the math is irrefutable. The Olympics are the “designer clothing” of metropolitan politics:
You pay WAY too much,
You never look as good as you think you will,
The attention you get is fleeting, but the bills are there for years, and
In 10 years you’ll look back and realize it was dumb, dumb, dumb.
Emilio Barzini: [during a meeting with the Five Families] Times have changed. It’s not like the Old Days, when we can do anything we want. A refusal is not the act of a friend. If Don Corleone had all the judges, and the politicians in New York, then he must share them, or let us others use them. He must let us draw the water from the well. Certainly he can present a bill for such services; after all… we are not Communists.
Make the motto of the games be “The Most Corrupt Games Ever” and the mascot a mobster.
They’ll even have autographed baseball bats signed by Al Capone.
You forgot the disclaimer that excludes spacey from that statement.
John Deaux–
today, I’m slumming. I have on flat driving loafers. Mind you, they are Tod’s, and cost $450.00.
What?
I don’t have children!
Spacey,
I’m wearing Rockports.
LOL
I’m sure your arches thank you…
Otherwise, I totally agree with RobM1981.
They are comfy.
gunslingerpatriot
Let the Games Begin
Anyone living in Chicago get me an autographed baseball bats signed by Al Capone. I’ll hang it over my Mr. Coffee!
Tangible economic benefits? Just for the cronies. They won’t gross as much as it’ll cost to ship the Obamessiah and his lackies to his sales meeting. Let China have it – they already have the facilities.
Yup, Chicago (and Washington) Democrats doing business as usual.
Why do “tangible economic benefits” sound suspiciously vague — like “jobs created or saved?”
The problem for an administration that has so consistently, glibly and brazenly lied about so many other things is that whenever they offer rosy projections about anything anymore I automatically assume that they’re lying about that, too.
It’s the safer bet that way.
Never happen. The committee will take one look at that area and laugh.
“…the city is the bomb
if the city makin’ pay…”
Tupac/Dre
As always, there will be “tangible economic benefits” to the Int’l Olympic Committee – and Obama’s buddies – but not to Chicago’s ordinary folk.
Undoubtedly Valerie Jarrett and co. will receive these funds thru ACORN, either just prior to an ACORN fraud investigation or because one never will happen.
BTW, when IS that obama, Blago, Jarrett, SEIU, governor ‘Pay for Play’ investigation going to get started? Remember? The SLAM DUNK case?
Has the obama, holder, rahm team dismissed this one as well?
Yes, but we’re not talking about LA-LA Land. We’re talking about Chicago. Ya know, the Chicago Way?
How much of any “profit” do you think will be lining the pockets of certain “community organizers?” Nudge, nudge. Wink, wink.
Yes, some local businesses would make money from this. But most will not. They are not part of the chosen few that represent the unions, the thugs, and the community organizers. And a LOT of government money will get lost in that shuffle as well.
Why don’t we let Saudi Arabia host the Olympics? We can have the burqa dressing competition where the contestents have to see who can put on a burqa the quickest and then run out of a burning building. The winner is the one that lives.
That would also mean no more beach volleyball.
Gibbs: How can anyone believe any word out of this man’s pie-hole? The only thing he thinks he is good for is trying to explain what his master really meant to say. And he isn’t very good at that either.