Apr 11, 2007 10:17 pm US/Central
Gov. Says He'll Back State Money For 2016 Olympics
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) ―
If Chicago is picked this weekend as the American bidder for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Wednesday he's eager to work to persuade state lawmakers to pass a $150 million financial guarantee to back the city's bid.
"Why wouldn't the state back the city and private investors for the Olympics? You got to think big, man," Blagojevich said after addressing a student group at Northwestern University.
Blagojevich said the money would come out of the state's general revenue.
The money would only be used if the Games lost money and other back-up funds were used, according to a March 28 letter to the city's chief Olympics organizer, businessman Patrick Ryan.
Those funds include a projected $525 million surplus, a projected $200 million capital contingency, and $250 million of the layered financial guarantee from the city of Chicago. The city's guarantee totals $500 million.
"I will seek to introduce such legislation promptly after Chicago is selected as the United States' applicant for the 2016 Games and use all my efforts to see that it is passed before the Illinois General Assembly's summer recess begins at the end of May 2007," Blagojevich wrote in the letter, which Crain's Chicago Business first reported on its Web site Wednesday.
Illinois lawmakers would need to approve any state backing for the Games.
The U.S. Olympic Committee will decide Saturday whether Chicago or Los Angeles will be the American bidder for the 2016 Summer Games. The International Olympic Committee won't pick a 2016 host city until 2009. Other bidders are expected to include Madrid, Spain; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Rome and Tokyo.
Illinois is showing its support for the Games like California has. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed legislation that authorizes $250 million in state money to help underwrite the games if Los Angeles is picked.
"We are happy to have the state's support on backing the bid, although we don't anticipate having to tap into this guarantee," Chicago 2016 spokesman Patrick Sandusky said in an e-mail statement.
Blagojevich said it was a "no-brainer" to back the Games because of the prestige and economic opportunity it promises to bring the city and state.
"The Olympics is a big deal," Blagojevich said.
The Olympics would be a first for Chicago. Los Angeles hosted the games in 1932 and again in 1984.
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