2016 Olympic site selection is pitting gold vs. Good will
Trying to figure out the International Olympic Committee, trying to analyze and comprehend the lords of the interlocking rings, is a little like reading tea leaves. Sometimes there is a clear, discernible message staring up at you through the tea. Sometimes it looks like a bunch of leaves at the bottom of a porcelain cup. Ref. Source 2
I agree. Utah lost a lot of money when the Winter Olympics came here. Atlanta lost more. There is no place in the United States that can afford the huge public debt and tax increases necessary to bring in the Olympics, and the extremely troubled Midwest least of all.
From my admittedly limited experience with Chicago, they would have to spend unbelievably huge amounts of money to build up infrastructure to handle the Olympics.
I thought something like this would actually benefit a local economy with airline tickets, hotels, transportation, special sites and more receiving the most from it. Maybe the cost of building / renovating does not equalize the potential profit? I guess with the threat of terrorism too this is no help.
Looks like Obama's charm did not work this time. Here are some of the other countries that lost out:
Rio de Janeiro Olympics
COPENHAGEN (AP) - The 2016 Summer Olympics are going to Rio de Janeiro, putting the games in South America for the first time. Rio beat surprise finalist Madrid in the last round of voting. Chicago was knocked out in the first round - a major surprise considering the personal involvement of President Obama - and Tokyo was eliminated in the second round. Ref. USAToday