Oct 2, 2009 6:28 pm US/Central
Loss Of Olympics A Crushing Defeat For Daley
Levine: Daley's Political Future May Be In Question
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Mayor Richard M. Daley tells International Olympic Committee delegates why Chicago should be host city for the 2016 Olympics. The bid proved unsuccessful.
CBS
The loss of Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics is being characterized as a crushing defeat for Mayor Richard M. Daley.
For his part, the mayor was disappointed, but philosophical about the loss.
"You go on with your life,'' Daley said, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Mayor Daley viewed the Olympics as having a huge potential impact on the city's economy, and it was widely believed that if the city won the Olympics, the mayor would stay on.
But CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports the mayor's political future is now in question. Mayor Daley has made no secret that he wants to do more traveling with his wife, Maggie.
CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery said the mayor suffered a "public black eye," but said he might actually end up benefiting from it.
He spent the last week schmoozing with Oprah and shaking hands with IOC delegates, but not getting the Games is also good news for Daley, despite the high-profile failure.
Since Chicago has been eliminated from Olympic contention, the Olympics have been taken off the table as a campaign issue. At least one potential mayoral candidate planned to use cost overruns for the 2016 Olympics as a campaign issue for the 2011 mayoral race.
Daley faces other big problems post-Copenhagen, most linked to the poor economy and to tax revenues that keep declining. He may have to make more job cuts at City Hall. Not to mention crime and that parking meter lease deal.
Only once before has Daley faced a defeat of this magnitude: when he first ran for mayor in 1983, finishing third behind Harold Washington and Jane Byrne.
As for the reasons Chicago lost, some of the reasons had nothing to do with the city.
Columnist Mark Starr of the GlobalPost said the U.S. Olympic Committee decision to dump a veteran leadership team angered the International Olympic Committee. The USOC also decided to start its own television network while in a dispute with the IOC about TV revenues – a move that infuriated the IOC.
The IOC is also known not to be partial to the U.S.
Starr said the recent beating death of 16-year-old Derrion Albert, allegations of corruption at City Hall, and other local issues played no role in the decision.
As to whether Chicago will make another bid for the Olympics, that appears unlikely to happen anytime soon. The Chicago Tribune recently suggested that this was a "one-and-done" effort in Chicago, and a future Olympic bid in Chicago would involve a different cast of characters.
There was already questions about whether Chicago 2016 Chairman Pat Ryan, who was effectively retired as Chief Executive Officer at Aon, would be able to stay on if the city did get the 2016 Olympics.
So will Mayor Daley run for reelection in 2011? He has to decide by next summer. Friends and foes will watch closely to gauge Daley's mood in days and weeks ahead.
CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery and Chief Correspondent Jay Levine contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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