Mayor Daley’s Olympic Confusion

June 27, 2009 by CookReformer
Filed under: 2016 Olympics, Mayor Daley, Spending, Taxes

So, did Mayor Daley commit the taxpayers as unwitting guarantors of the cost of the 2016 Olympic Games … or didn’t he?

Well, last week he sent word from Switzerland that he had, in fact, done just that.

But now, in a press conference back home in Chicago, Mayor Daley offered an explanation that was, well, confusing as heck.

The Chicago Tribune reports:

In a news release, Daley said he may have “spoke too quickly” when he agreed in Switzerland to give an unlimited financial guarantee.

Pressed by reporters, Daley then seemed to suggest he hadn’t made a blanket guarantee: “I just said I will sign an agreement, I didn’t say which one.” He added the city still planned to amend the Olympics contract to ease Chicago’s liability.

Well, that certainly clears things up, eh?

As Commissioner Peraica points out in this video, despite the firestorm surrounding Daley’s announcement from Switzerland, the mayor and Olympic organizers still are leaving taxpayers in the dark — even holding secret meetings with Chicago aldermen.

What should worry all Illinois taxpayers — even the most ardent Olympic supporters — is Chicago’s track record on funding and completing large projects.

We all can remember the Millenium Park billions-over-budget-and-years-late project…

And how about the CTA “megastation” project that has cost tens of millions already and now sit sidle in the middle of Chicago’s Loop?

Chicago just hasn’t shown the ability to effectively and efficiently manage large projects. And that makes us worried that the taxpayers will be left footing the bill for cost overruns. Furthermore, it’s very likely that, if those cost overruns are significant, that Mayor Daley will use his clout to push some sort of taxpayer bailout from Springfield.

And that leaves every single taxpayer in the state of Illinois on the hook for yet another Chicago boondoggle.

This isn’t about the Olympic Games. It’s about protecting the taxpayers. It’s about requiring Mayor Daley to, once and for all, act in a responsible, transparent manner that doesn’t insult the voters and throw our hard-earned tax dollars down the drain.