W. Side must get cut of Olympics: alderman

W. Side must get cut of Olympics: alder
October 2, 2006
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter

The chairman of the City Council's Black Caucus has an Olympic-sized message for Mayor Daley: Don't forget about the West Side.
Ald. Ed Smith (28th) said he has no problem with Daley's decision to concentrate athletic venues for the proposed 2016 Summer Olympic Games in four neighborhoods: Lincoln Park, Burnham Park, Washington Park and University Village.

But with all the talk of building Chicago's revised Olympic bid around a 95,000-seat collapsible stadium on the South Side, Smith is concerned that the West Side will be forgotten.

"We're not included. Nothing is planned for the West Side other than the United Center and the University of Illinois at Chicago. We've got a whole lot of areas beyond those that need to be included. They can't leave us out," Smith said.


'Would be ... travesty'
"It would be an absolute travesty if the Olympics is won by Chicago and all of these kids from all over the world come to our city to win all the medals because we didn't prepare our own kids to win some."
After a closed-door briefing Friday on Chicago's revised Olympic bid, Smith fired off a letter to Daley warning that the West Side "must be an integral part" of the 16-day event.


'Ambitious plans'
It specifically mentions the need for Olympic-sized swimming pools at West Side high schools that have no pools; track fields; gymnasiums and other "indoor multi-sports facilities that will remain" when the Games are done, as well as qualified instructors to teach inner-city kids in all sports.
"Our kids play basketball and football. But, that's not the totality of a good physical education program. We can do a lot here to improve our kids' health. We want to get them acclimated to the idea that they could be participants in the Olympics and they could win if they're in condition," he said.

Patrick Sandusky, a spokesman for Chicago 2016, offered a carefully worded response to Smith's ultimatum about including the West Side.

"We think it's great that people are excited about the Olympic Games and supportive. But it's far too early in our planning process to talk about what kind of footprint additional venues may have other than the venue plan we've already announced," Sandusky said.

But, he added, "I know that the mayor has ambitious plans for instituting sport through the Chicago Public Schools and tying that in" to the Olympics.

Last month, Chicago's competition with Los Angeles and San Francisco to become the U.S. Olympic Committee's choice for 2016 took a dramatic turn.


$1 billion Olympic Village
Daley announced plans to build the collapsible, 95,000-seat Olympic stadium in historic Washington Park to house track-and-field events and the opening and closing ceremonies.
Two days later, Pat Ryan, Daley's Olympic point man, took the wraps off the city's entire venue plan.

The focal point is a $1 billion Olympic Village on 37 acres now used as a truck staging area for McCormick Place.

Daley and Ryan have put a $300 million price tag on the stadium, but they have not spelled out how they intend to pay for it. They would only say public money will not be involved.

fspielman@suntimes.com