A Renewed Push For A Binding Olympics Agreement
With Chicago aldermen now paying close attention
to the potential public cost of the city's Olympic bid, local activists
headed back to City Hall yesterday to revive their push for a
legally-binding community benefits agreement.
As regular readers know, Communities ...
With Chicago aldermen now paying close attention to the potential public cost of the city's Olympic bid, local activists headed back to City Hall yesterday to revive their push for a legally-binding community benefits agreement.
As regular readers know, Communities for an Equitable Olympics (CEO 2016) -- a coalition of neighborhood organizations and labor unions -- has been working for over a year to ensure that those who live in the footprint of future Olympic venues have a stake in the development bonanza (assuming the city wins its bid). They made real progress by pushing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) through the City Council this spring. The document included affordable housing set-asides in the Olympic Village complex and guarantees that 10 percent of certain construction apprenticeships would be divvied up within the low-income communities surrounding Washington Park and Douglas Park. But legal experts confirmed that the document amounts to little more than a handshake agreement between two mayoral-appointed committees. And CEO 2016 has made it clear that they are unwilling to simply trust the bid committee and the Daley administration to deliver.
That lack of trust regarding the Olympics expanded greatly last week when Mayor Daley signaled to the International Olympic Committee that the city would cover any cost overruns incurred by the games -- a position that contradicts earlier assurances that taxpayers would be on the hook for $500 million at most. Just yesterday, aldermen announced that they're planning to hire an independent analyst who will comb through the $1 billion in private insurance policies that Chicago 2016 has promised would shield taxpayers from footing Olympic bills. And Ald. Manny Flores (1st Ward) is still planning to introduce an ordinance next week that would block the mayor from committing any new money to the games.
Meanwhile, CEO 2016 is attempting to take advantage of the current climate, calling on the city to become a party to the MOU (rather than just "bless" the document, as they did this past April).
"When we tried to get a binding agreement, we were told, 'Well, it's all privately financed and how do we hold the [the private sector] accountable?'" CEO 2016 leader Jay Travis of the Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization (KOCO) tells us. "Now that we know there's public money involved, that changes things."
As WBEZ reports, the coalition is pushing hard for public accountability, including the formation of an oversight commitee and "public hearings in neighborhoods where Olympic venues would be held."
"We have a problem with transparency here and the mayor's having free rein to do whatever he wants," KOCO's Shannon Bennett tells us.
Comments
First of all, let me say that I truly applaud the work that CEO 2016 has been doing over the years, and the work they will continue to do. But for the grace of God and their advocacy, we would not have an Olympics MOU, nonbinding, or binding. I also appreciate the level of detail the document provides, and the attempt to address issues holistically, versus piecemeal. The document indeed is a model that should be replicated in all aspects of community development in Chicago and beyond. While the letter of the Olympic negotiations is excellent, I am very concerned with the spirit in which the negotiations are being conducted.
It's unfortunate that there was absolutely no input from rank and file North Lawndale residents. If our elected officials or prominent North Lawndale organizations had any input, they have not shared information with the rest of us. As a result, our interests are not being served. Even though an Olympic Venue is planned for Douglas Park, there is no representation from North Lawndale on the Chicago 2016 Outreach Committee.
As it stands, North Lawndale will lose the Collins High School Athletic Building in favor of construction of a $37 million Olympic Velodrome. Collins High School just received $30.3 million from the Midwest TIF under the Modern Schools Across Chicago Program in 2006. The MOU is structured such that the focus of community benefits are targeted for neighborhoods within a 1 mile square radius of Olympic venues. This cuts the North Lawndale community in half. Requests for the creation of a comprehensive economic development plan that will prepare North Lawndale businesses and local residents to take advantage of opportunities presented by the Olympics have not been taken seriously. The reason given is “we don’t have the Olympics yet”.
The Lawndale Alliance invited Alderman Dixon, members of Chicago 2016, CEO 2016, and the City Department of Planning and Development to participate in a town hall meeting to have a balanced discussion of the pros and cons of the Olympics and their impact on the North Lawndale Community. They all cancelled their appearances at the last minute. This deprived the community of an excellent opportunity to hear positive developments surrounding the Olympics, and learn best practices around community advocacy.
In cancelling their participation in the Olympics town hall meeting, Chicago 2016 indicated that the only North Lawndale organization they will meet with is the Douglas Park Advisory Council. They also indicated that they will only meet in Douglas Park. It should be noted that Michael Scott's daughter (and possibly son) are active participants. Conversations with the secretary of the Douglas Park Advisory Council revealed that the group has nothing to do with the Olympics. (It should be noted that they have since participated in Chicago 2016 Legacy planning sessions.) A letter of complaint to Chicago 2016 Chairman Patrick Ryan regarding the group’s decision to meet exclusively with the Douglas Park Advisory Council has not been answered.
If we are really to have trusting relationships, there needs to be much better sharing of information from all impacted parties.
please no olympics
Post new comment