City pulling up lame in Games campaign
OLYMPICS | Report cites need for transit, marketing help ASAP
Chicago must spend more to attract foreign tourists, expedite expansion of O'Hare Airport, and reform both its mass transit and City Colleges systems to strengthen its Olympic bid, business and civic leaders have concluded.
"The very things that strengthen Chicago's global future will also strengthen our Olympic bid. There's a real convergence of the two," said Former MacArthur Foundation President Adele Simmons, one of the authors of the report.
"If Chicago is really going to thrive as a global city, it needs to engage all of these pieces. There is no silver bullet. Increasing the tourism budget is something we know how to do, but it will cost some money. Getting transit improvements is a lot more complicated, but the return on investment is huge."
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, sponsor of the report, noted that Chicago spends one-tenth as much as Orlando, one-twentieth as much as Las Vegas and virtually nothing outside the Midwest to attract tourists.
To even the playing field and fill Chicago's fast-rising inventory of hotel rooms, the six-month study recommends a "dramatic" increase in the city's tourism promotion budget, with a heavy emphasis on overseas advertising.
The group also recommends: strengthening the "mandate and resources" of World Business Chicago to attract global trade and development; establishing Chicago offices in select global cities; sponsoring trips to Chicago by foreign journalists, and maintaining a separate budget for foreign travel by the mayor and other city officials.
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs was founded in 1922 as the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations. Its 65-page report -- entitled "The Global Edge: An Agenda for Chicago's Future" -- was prepared by a study group composed of 40 prominent business and civic leaders.
The report notes that the seven schools within the City Colleges system have multiple missions: vocational training; remedial education; adult and continuing education, including English as a second language and preparing students to transition to four-year colleges.
"There is scant evidence that the City Colleges of Chicago are fulfilling any of these functions," the report states.
Noting that the system has lost one-third of its enrollment over the last decade, while its budget has remained stable, the report states, "The city has made public schools a priority and is seeing progress. Now, the City Colleges needs the same priority attention. The city -- both its government and private employers--must make rescue and revival of this system a major goal."