Chicago 2016 group going out of business
Most layoffs this month, with a few remaining until end of year
The organization that brought you all those banners, ads and fund-raising pitches for the 2016 Olympics in Chicago soon will pay the price for the city's failure to get the games.
Chicago 2016, the high-powered civic committee that has worked on the city's bid for three years, is expected to lay off most of its 57 paid staffers by the end of October. A small group is expected to remain through year-end as it winds down operations.
(John J. Kim/Sun-Times)
In a "stewardship report" issued in late August, the committee disclosed that it has raised $76.9 million from July 2006 through last June 30. All the money was from private donations.
The 39-page report included a brief mention of how it would close shop after an unsuccessful bid. Chicago was the first city to be voted out of contention Friday by the International Olympic Committee, meeting in Copenhagen. The 2016 Summer Games were bestowed on Rio de Janiero, and bids from Madrid and Tokyo also were denied.
Chicago 2016 said it spent $48.3 million in pursuit of the bid and donated $13 million to World Sports Chicago, a new organization intended as a legacy of the quest for the Games. World Sports Chicago is supposed to help Chicago-area youth find Olympic and Paralympic sports near their homes.
Money left over from the Chicago 2016 shutdown likewise would be routed to World Sports Chicago. How much that might be isn't known. Chicago 2016 officials, several of whom were en route home from Copenhagen, could not be reached Sunday.
Executive salaries at Chicago 2016 reached a high of $300,000 a year, paid to Chief Operating Officer David Bolger. The group's president, Lori Healey, was among three staffers earning $250,000 a year.
Citing other salaries among nonprofit employers, Chicago 2016 said in its report that its pay packages were reasonable.
Chicago 2016 Chairman Patrick Ryan, the founding chairman of insurance broker Aon Corp., took no pay. Chicago 2016 said he and his wife were entitled to fly first-class for free on bid-related business, but that Ryan picked up 70 percent of the cost.
Over its three years, Chicago 2016 reported paying $9.5 million to staff and contractors. It said that as of June 30, it had 20 employees loaned to it and paid by others, 32 volunteers, 12 contractors and 32 interns.