Tuesday, March 31, 2009

IOC Officials Getting the VIP Treatment from Chicago 2016

It goes without saying that the small group of IOC officials that are set to arrive in Chicago this Thursday to review the city's Olympic plan are in for a treat. The AP (among other sources) has an article today talking about some of the steps the city is taking to wow the officials.

Whether it's getting a sneak preview of the new modern wing at the art institute or simply having Chicago's business world bow down to you, we imagine these officials will see the best that Chicago has to offer across the board.

Besides giving them the VIP treatment, the 2016 bid team will obviously be detailing Chicago's plans for the games as well. If we could be a fly on the wall for one portion of the visit it would be to hear what the bid team will say about transportation improvements. In the bid book that was released in February many observers and media outlets pointed out the lack of 'improvements' to the CTA and Metra systems.

However, more recently Governor Quinn and Senator Durbin have made mention of the cities often dreamed about 'circle line' that they both say would play a key role in the 2016 Olympic games. There seems to be a disconnect between what the bid team is saying and what our government officials are saying. With that said, we're curious what the IOC officials are going to hear about this issue this week. To be honest, our guess is that it won't be addressed publicly, but we're pretty sure there will be talk about improvements that are 'planned'.

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