In recent weeks, we've watched Tribune business columnist David Greising wake up to the idea that, if Chicago wins the 2016 Olympic bid, it could become just the latest venue for closed-door cronyism, corruption, and mismanagement. More specifically, Greising has urged Mayor Daley and the bid committee to commit to a fully transparent process and subject the process to the Freedom of Information Act. Now the Tribune editorial board has joined the chorus:
Aldermen and citizens need to be confident that the Games will come off without the city taking a bath. Because if and when Daley signs an agreement in Copenhagen guaranteeing that Chicago will deliver the Olympics -- no matter the cost -- those aldermen and citizens will be sitting in the tub.
Our advice to Chicago 2016 head Pat Ryan as he tries to sell an Olympics to Chicago: Be candid. Be specific. Don't sugarcoat risk.
Read their entire list of suggestions for Ryan.
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Comments
AdityaC on Thu, 08/20/2009 - 04:16
David Greising deserves praise for being one of just a few journalists in this town who has been willing to speak "truth to power" on this topic without needing any secured loans. (The Reader's Ben Joravsky is also on that short list.) Absent a FOIA hook, the Chicago Organizing Committee will not, for all practical purposes, be accountable to the City Council, to journalists, or to the public-at-large. Look at the roadblocks Alderman Waguespack continues to face -- even with FOIA -- in his efforts to learn (albeit after-the-fact) how the parking meter deal went down. Alderman Flores, Alderman Moore, Alderman Waguespack, Alderwoman Preckwinkle: please stand up for us on this one and encourage your colleagues to do the same. This could prove a far bigger disaster than the recent parking meter mess. Demand transparency. We are paying attention.
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