Dejection in Chicago after city loses Olympic bid
'This is so anti-climactic. It's really a tragedy'
For Chicagoans who had hoped and dreamed, it was a gut punch, as the city was stunningly eliminated in the first round of voting by the International Olympic Committee.
At Daley Plaza, a shellshocked quiet fell over what was to have been celebration central.
Spectators, some who'd been there for hours to hear the news, seemed stunned as they milled around the plaza, heads down, Chicago 2016 signs and flags at their sides.
“Everybody was just silent in the crowd, including me,” said Katrina Ongchongco, 22, a student at the Illinois Institute of Technology. “My face just fell. I’m just stunned.”
"It's awful," said Mona Higgins, 37, a Chicago pharmacist who wore an orange Olympics T-shirt to Daley Plaza. “I thought we had it. I wanted to bring the world to our city and show them. This would have been so fun. Now, this will be like last year with the Cubs."
Cook County Commissioner Peter Silvestri, who was also in the crowd at Daley Plaza, said, “This is so anti-climactic. It’s really a tragedy. It would have been so great for the city.”
“I'm stunned. I thought this was going to be a contest between Chicago and Rio de Janiero,” said Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, who was also at the Daley Plaza rally.
Others were less gracious.
“This vote today was, without a doubt, ridiculously political and mean-spirited,” said state Rep. Susana Mendoza. “I travel a lot. I was literally nearly killed in Rio three years ago when I was there representing the U.S. government. I thought we had really turned a corner with the election of President Obama. People are so much more welcoming of Americans now. But this isn’t the people of those countries. This is the leaders still living with outdated impressions of Americans.”
Audrey Rue drove down from Blue Mounds, Wis., this morning. She wore a white T-shirt with the logo “I Back The Bid.” Rue had been thrilled at the prospect of a Chicago Olympics because organizers had planned to hold the cycling events near her hometown, just outside Madison.
“I was stunned,” Rue said after Chicago went out in a vote that ultimately saw Rio win on the third ballot. “With all the reading I had done, I thought it was a no-brainer. We took it all for granted.”
But dejection wasn’t universal.
“I don’t have a strong feeling either way,” said Richard Ploucher, 67, of Chicago, munching a hoagie and walking through the plaza after a doctor’s appointment. “I thought if we got it, it would be nice, but somebody had to lose. I am surprised we got knocked out in the first round.”
All the same, Ploucher said he would have been willing to pay higher taxes if Chicago had landed the Olympics.
Meanwhile, in Washington Park — where an 80,000-seat Olympic stadium had been planned — dejection was widespread.
Luther and Romana Rogers came to the park from Crete. They brought two nephews and a niece, hoping for a family celebration of Chicago’s victory.
“With Oprah and the president, we should have had it,” Romana Rogers said.
Luther Rogers, who’s a contractor, said he thought the Olympics would have been great for business.
“I think it’s terrible,” Rogers said. “It would have brought out the diversity of the city for everyone to see. It would have helped black contractors like myself.”
Theresa Bowen, 49, of Garfield Park, also had employment on her mind as she grappled with the gloomy news.
“We were hoping it would bring a lot of jobs to the city, especially the West Side,” said Bowen, 49, who arrived at Daley Plaza around 9 a.m. “I was hoping to see the athletes. I never went to the games [before] because they were always so far away.”
Bowen said she was impressed with how President Obama, Michelle Obama and Mayor Daley pitched their hometown, and she doesn’t see today’s vote as a total loss for Chicago.
“Well, Chicago has been put on the big stage,” Bowen said.
As the news sank in, a small group of college students roamed an emptying Daley Plaza, still holding their “It’s Gonna Happen” banners. They had scrawled the word “Not” on their signs.
And there were still hundreds of people waiting in line for free “I BACK THE BID” T-shirts.
“We’ll scratch out the 16 and put a 20 on there,” said Katherine Gardner of Lake View, trying to get her hands on her own T-shirt. “It’s like the Cubs: Better luck next time.”
Contributing: Stefano Esposito