In Switzerland this week, Mayor Daley may have thought that he was far enough away that Chicagoans wouldn't hear he agreed to use taxpayer dollars to pay for any cost overruns associated with the 2016 Olympics. Luckily, the Tribune caught wind of the hushed deal. Now, Ald. Manny Flores (1st Ward) is demanding that the City Council have a role in this decision.
Flores is challenging aldermen to assert their power over the city's purse strings by signing onto his ordinance that would "prohibit the use of any additional tax payer dollars to pay for the Olympics" -- beyond the $500 million guarantee on any operating overruns approved in 2007. The measure won't be introduced until later this month. And council has some time to consider the issue, due to the fact that the mayor won't actually sign the "host city agreement" until October when the IOC meets to decide who lands the 2016 games. In the meantime, Daley has agreed to hold a public meeting with aldermen to explain exactly what the guarantee means. But as Flores sees it, the public has already put plenty of "skin in the game." "Enough is enought," he said on WTTW's Chicago Tonight yesterday, calling Daley's actions "irresponsible." Progress Illinois. Watch it (full video here):
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