Olympics Crony Watch: Protest in Chicago today; Daley mouths off in Copenhagen
Photoshop: Paul Croteau
No Games Chicago is holding a protest against the Daley/Obama crony bid today at 5:30pm in Chicago. City Hall. 121 N. LaSalle St.
Another blog, No Chicago Games, lists the Top 10 reasons why Chicago should not host the Olympic Games, worth reprinting in its entirety:
The Top 10 Reasons Why Chicago Shouldn’t Host the Olympics
1. President Obama should not reward Daley with his support for a Chicago Olympics because of the numerous crimes and civil rights violations that have occurred during Daley’s 29 year tenure as mayor and states attorney. Given the amount of corruption that has happened under Daley, it is absurd that President Obama or First Lady Michelle are even considering making a presentation on behalf of a Daley sponsored Chicago Olympics.
2. Daley planned and followed through on an unlawful hiring and election rigging system before Daley was sworn in as mayor. Daley is scheming to use Olympic contracts and contractors to further his political might just like Daley did before becoming mayor of Chicago. One election rigging scheme, shame on Daley. A second election rigging scheme, shame on us.
3. Daley’s unlawful hiring and election rigging scheme went on for 16 years until the FBI uncovered it. The building of a Chicago Olympic site and the assignment of the land and buildings after the Olympics will take at least 10 years The length of time involved to set up and close an Olympic village gives Daley a perfect opportunity to create another long-term scandal.
4. Given Chicago Olympic Committee Chairman Patrick Ryan’s previous conflicts of interests, his $100,000.00 unethical campaign contribution to Daley, and Ryan’s long time personal friendship with Daley, Ryan is the wrong man to chair the Chicago Olympic Committee.
5. Given Aon’s previous $180 million “conflicts of interest” fine and $5.25 million fine for “inadequate corruption and bribery controls,” Aon is the wrong company to spearhead a Chicago Olympics.
6. The Chicago Olympic Committee will disburse billions of dollars in contracts and concessions without proper transparency, bidding or assignment. The claim that the Chicago Olympic Committee is a free enterprise doesn’t prevent corruption, it guarantees it.
7. For 16 years Daley used patronage workers who unlawfully received jobs, promotions, overtime pay, etc. to campaign for Daley backed candidates. If we cannot trust the Daley administration with it’s personnel decisions when the federal court observes every employment decision, how can we trust Daley to manage 5,000 Chicago Olympic employees when no one is watching? Chicago doesn’t need Daley’s patronage office moving from Chicago’s Intergovernmental Affairs office to the Chicago Olympic headquarters.
8. The Chicago Olympic committee has already been involved in controversies and improprieties, such as a Chicago Olympic Committee member’s real estate investment across from an Olympic venue, Aon’s $47 million in city contracts that was supposed to be unrelated to Aon’s office space and human resource donations to the Chicago’s Olympic bid, and the use of tax increment funds to pay for the Chicago Olympic village. Chicago Olympic improprieties will increase exponentially if the IOC selects Chicago as the 2016 host city.
9. A Chicago Olympics may cost Chicago and Illinois taxpayers billions of dollars because the IOC requires a financial guarantee. It will be a shame if President Obama persuades the IOC to select Chicago to host the 2016 Olympics and the federal taxpayers end up having to pick up the tab.
10. Showcasing Chicago to the world, the money, and jobs from a Chicago Olympics aren’t worth the price of ten or more years of Chicago and Illinois political corruption and political oppression.
Hope the IOC is watching.
De facto Olympics czar and interest-conflicted real estate development mogul Valerie Jarrett “can’t imagine why anyone would be against it.”
***
Well, the IOC is certainly watching Mayor Daley’s mouth:
Could Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Summer Games be hurt by Mayor Richard M. Daley’s comments about the competition with Rio de Janeiro?
Daley’s comments last week about Rio’s capabilities to host both the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics are being taken by Rio as critical of Chicago’s presumed main rival in Friday’s International Olympic Committee vote for the 2016 Games. (You can read our original story about that by clicking here.)
What Daley said about Tokyo and Madrid also could be viewed as critical of those two other finalists, since he minimized their chances based on geographical factors.
The IOC prohibits bid cities from criticizing their rivals.
Questions about whether Daley’s comments had breached that prohibition were raised at both the Rio and Chicago media conferences here this afternoon, and a Brazil bid leader promoted that idea.
Responding to a question today about Daley’s comments, Rio 2016 bid chairman Carlos Nuzman said, through a translator, that such issues are “in the hands” of the IOC ethics commission.
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Categories: Olympics
Obama’s Copenhagen trip is ridiculous. I find it to be yet another act of vanity.
Why can’t he summit his military advisors RIGHT NOW and deal with the urgent assessments and immediate needs outlined by the McChrystal report?
No, he just has to go do the bidding of his Chicago Machine paymasters and wing away to Denmark to go make a sales job for that damn city to the International Olympic Committee, an act which should be beneath him.
It’s like the President of the United States standing at a craps table with dice, exposing himself to a very public gamble.
He will spend some of his precious authority begging the favor of a committee of people who rightly should be the American president’s inferiors.
I find our president pathetic, truly.
I would rather have the IOC base their opinion on the video of Derrion Albert. This would just be icing on the cake.
Oh please; Scandinavia also thinks Gore deserved a prize.
But no time for General Stan McChrystal, Afghanistan isn’t a priority?
Col Jack Jacobs this morning on Fox Business News. weighing in on the Afghanistan Strategy. General McChrystal has asked for 40,000 more troops for mission success in Afghanistan. Col Jacobs says, he will probably get 10,000 more and be told to make do.
Would Obama be in Copenhagen to save an Olympic opportunity for any other American city?
Obama may find his Chicago Way is not doing to sit well with the Olympic Committee.
If you have not already done so, the book Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson is excellent. It revolves around the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1903. It is not about political corruption per se but does illustrate how mismanaged this type of venue can be. Just a really good book in my opinion.
Sheesh. That was akwardly witten.
Brain, meet fingers.
I’d feel safer in Tokyo or Madrid than I would in Chi-town.
Rio – not so sure about.
I’d feel safer in Tombstone or Dodge City (1880s) than now in Chicago.
Looked okay to me.
Agreed. Devil in the White City is one of the best books I’ve read in the past 12 months!
Public Option goes down while obummer hawks his snake oil in Copenhagen. Sweet!
I just started Thunderstruck. It revolves around the use of radio to connect ships at sea for the first time, and of course a murder. So far it is a great diversion.
How about I don’t want Chicago to get the Olympics because the the whole ball of earwax just ticks me off?
Maybe someone should send the Olympic Committee a video of the beating death in Chicago. That ought to convince them!
Ethics Commission??? We’re talking Chicago here!! They can’t even spell “ethics” in Chicago.
Indeed. I went through the ten objections to the games being in Chicago, examining them from Obama’s POV, and all I could think of was: So? And the problem is?
As has been said on other blogs and talk radio, it would not surprise me if there was some back room deal that has already secured the Olympic games for Chicago and Obama’s trip is more to take the credit than anything else.
I agree with others that it is really pathetic that Obama can go pimp Chicago, but does not have the time to come up with a strategy for Afghanistan.
I would also love to see a comparison of travel expeditures for Obama in his first year and Bush and Clinton’s first year in office. I would not be surprised if Obama’s expeditures were more than both Bush’s and Clinton’s combined.
Teh Olympics are just the salve that Chicago needs to cure its ailments. The international Olympic spirit will conquer all the effects of failed Bush and Reagan policies that you see in Chicago. The cutlure of crime and murder that is rampant in Chicago are all because of social injustice don’t you know. If Chicago gets the Olympics it will end violent crime, give everbody a job, decrease the dropuout rate, cause fathers to raise their children, and everything will be dripping with the ooey goodness of Obama.
/sarc off
No need for a top 10 list, a top 3 should suffice:
1. Corruption
2. Crime
3. Violence
We are living the Twilight Zone episode called “Obamaland”.
I’m sure the right Rev. Wright is already practicing his invocation speech!
Bill Ayers is planning the bombing of the Olympic village.
Burris is raising his bribe money.
Daly is organizing his union thug platoons to shake down every participating nation
The getto guys are planning their mugging attacks on the tourists
Blagdonavich is campaigning to oversee construction. Did I miss anybody?
Obama is planning his marketing strategy to offer government health care to all participating nations at the expense of people who actually work in the U.S.
What could go wrong?
sarc off
Not to mention Daley’s illegal bulldozing, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, of an active airport.
The Chicago taxpayers paid over $1,000,000 in FAA fines.
Linguistically, Daley makes W sound like William F. Buckley Jr. If not placated, he shoots from the hip and often puts his foot in his mouth. He is a uniquely Chicago brand and probably does not show well on the world stage. I would love if this would put a nail in the coffin of Chicago’s bid, for the sake of the taxpayers.
Democrat Pat Caddell was on Glenn Beck tonight and seriously went after Valerie Jarrett and Chicago Corruption vis a vis the Olympics.
Everyone is still asking why he can’t settle down into the job and actually make decisions instead of planning his next frivolous junket. Why he’s not working with our military on Afghanistan – well, it’s because he simply doesn’t know how. He’s totally unprepared to make any military decisions, and even trying to sound like he knows what he’s doing on healthcare is wearing thin with those that actually knows he’s making stuff up.
Instead of being elected president we should have just had him audition to be a rock star.
“The Olympics are as American as anything” Haha…I bet they’re going to love that in Denmark.
Eric Larson fans:
‘Isaac’s Storm’-about the 1900 Galveston Hurricane-is great…and a small correction…’Devil’ takes place in 1893 at the Columbia Exposition.
Many of the museums are housed in buildings that were left from it.
Mayor Daley to IOC Ethics Commission: What youse talking about? Youse using words with me? We talking words?
And Little Miss Jarrett is but an innocent abroad-sweet child-butter would not melt in her mouth.
Or conniving con artist, take your pick.
Can we write to the OIC and warn them about Chicago?? A few years ago, my husband, kids and I were in Chicago. We visited a couple museums and were heading back to our hotel when my husband took a wrong turn. You don’t ever want to take a wrong turn in Chicago. MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING AT ALL TIMES! We ended up in a very bad area. It was filled with apartment buildings that were literally falling down with broken windows, etc. But they were inhabited. There were groups of black men and teenagers just milling around all over. We got stuck behind a city bus and had to stop. Some of the gangs were looking at us very carefully and one group was moving closer to our car. I told my husband to get us the hell out of there! He backed up, went around the bus, and peeled out of there. We eventually found our way to the right road and our hotel. I expected a bullet to come through our car window at any minute. I was seriously terrified and wouldn’t leave the hotel room again until we left for home. This is the kind of thing that tourists have to look forward to when they visit the lovely city of Chicago. This happened to us over 10 years ago, and I hear it is worse now!
Let’s put it this way. If corruption pervaded multiple levels of the Salt Lake City games in a state owned by the Mormon church I can only imagine what it would be like in the most corrupt city in the country.
I keep seeing an awful lot of compalints about Daley’s illegal activities. So why do you keep voting him in?
Let’s see, the IOC scumbags in bed with the Chicago politician scumbags. Pity the hotel maid that has to clean those dirty linens.
On September 29th, 2009 at 8:13 pm, xler8bmw said:
Would that be because the dead only vote for who they are told to?
I’ll take Chicago politics for 500, Alex.
*P-BO in Copenhagen regarding the Olympics is just insane; Does he not know how to delegate tasks?; This trip may not be his Waterloo, but it will be the equivalent of George Bush and “Mission Accomplished”; They beat him like a drum over that move for years; The Minor League Media may not take issue with such a move this time, but the people know better, and they will remember.
My younger son said that Chicago would never get the Olympics; I’d be inclined to agree except for the fact that we once expressed the same confidence about China getting the Olympics.
That being said, I hope and pray that the IOC sends that sorry lot back home with their collective tails between their legs.
That one should be the Daily Double – and you’d be allowed to wager five-times the amount of money you have.
All Obama, all the time, is very annoying. I dont want to see anybody’s face this often. By 2016, I will have sworn off TV forever if he were reelected.
I hear Rio isn’t any safer. Maybe Tokyo will get it. That would be better for all.
Victor Davis Hanson has some good insights into Obama’s “management style” at http://www.victorhanson.com. It is worth taking a look to get some additional insights into Obama’s style.
Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist but the item that immediately came to mind was “follow the money trail.” See what individuals benefit the most financially from the Olympics being brought to Chicago. I wonder if either Barack or Michelle Obama would stand to get some of that dough indirectly if Chicago gets the Olympics.
Idiot Richie Daley “mouths off” all the time. He’s a real buffoon, and it’s completely true that he makes “W” look highly articulate.
The reason Chicago keeps voting for “da Mare” Richie Daley is because Chicago is mostly black and latino, and almost entirely “democrat.”
Aw c’mon, they could have a Corruption Olympics starting as soon as Chicago is chosen, continuing up to and through the actual athletic games and for a few years after. Any thug or gangster in the country could compete for favors from Daley while getting their pockets filled./sarc
How many Rezko’s have ties to any real estate any where near a proposed venue?
I think we should think of the type of Corruption competitions there could be at the Corruption Olympics.
There could be the 100 yard pocket filling competition where contestants would see how much cash they could stuff in their pockets while running 100 yards.
There could be the Crony pay-off relay. There would be 5 contestants. Three thugs and three politicians where the thugs have to hand off wads of cash to politicians. The one who crosses the line with the most wins.
How about the ballot stuffing competition where thugs (or ACORN…same thing) could compete in how many ballots they could stuff in a box in 10 minutes.
The above competition would be held after the death race….a race in which the contestants determine how fast they can register dead people to vote.
Rush believes this already is in the bag for ChiTcago or 0bama wouldn’t be going there. I hope Rush is wrong for once.
Just remember the IOC is about as corrupt as any process out there. They teach the UN “how to do it”.
The IOC matching up with Chicago is a natural and everyone get fleeced.
The Olympics will not be a boon to Chicago, they will be just another anchor that weighs it down. Rewarding corruption and cronyism is the Chicago and Olympic way. How much will the citizens of this polluted city have to sacrifice (such as taxes) to pull this off? How much money will be wasted so that trolls like OneMonkeysUncle can pat themselves on the back and continue to claim that corruption is okay since Chicago has been run by corrupt slime like Daley for ages.
I truly hope that Rio gets the bid. S. America has never received the Olympics and the world will get to see another corrupt part of the hemisphere. I’m sure Brazil will be able to showcase their fabulous poverty, crime, and gang problems.
Let’s give the world a chance. Not Chicago, okay?
Obama pitching Chicago for the Olympics in Denmark while:
- US Troops and civilians in Iraq are forgotten (by the administration).
- US Troops and civilians in Afghanistan are neglected and understaffed.
- The value of the dollar is dropping faster than ever in it’s history.
- A huge plot by Islamists is discovered that would have killed hundreds of Americans, caused physical damage and disrupted trade to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.
But hey – the Olympics are important!
Nero played fiddle while Rome burned.
Also:
Back in the cold war, the IOC went out of it’s way to deliver the Olympics to Totalitarian Communist countries. If that logic still holds (and I assure you, the Europeans on the IOC are raging Communists who dream of a revived Soviet Union), then Chicago will probably get the games.
Lemme guess: a big fat post Olympic bailout for Chicago?
I’d walk up and down the streets of a favela in Rio all night before I’d set one foot in a Chicago(Detroit, LA, etc) slum are you kidding me?