By Amanda HolmesI was going to write this post about the Built to Spill concert I went to see last Saturday but then I heard that Chicago lost the Olympic bid. It was such great news that I decided to write this post instead.
Chicago has a lot to worry about as it is. Chicago city schools are being closed, the CTA is in many places in a disgraceful state, violence is increasing, and the city currently has budget gap of almost $500 million. Plans for the Olympic parks included the leveling of affordable housing for hundreds of people. The cost of the Chicago Olympics in 2016 were estimated at some ridiculous cost like $2 billion. It is not my intention, here, to write about why it is such a bad idea for Chicago to host the Olympics. Since the decision has already been made that would be a bit pointless.
What I am interested in, though, is writing about the collective community response and activism that was formed in opposition to the 2016 bid. No Games Chicago is at the center of this collective action. This group has done an incredible job of organizing the Chicago community and acting to educate the public and community leaders about the detrimental impacts that the games would have had.
I think that this was a great example of collective, democratic action. No Games Chicago went to all community meetings in Chicago and notified business leaders and citizens there about the problems with the Chicago Olympics in 2016, wrote letters to the International Olympics Committee, and provided an important critical voice in the discussion about Olympic planning.
The challenge now remains for organizations like No Games Chicago to define what can be done in the aftermath of the 2016 bid. Hopefully the complaints about the lack of adequate infrastructure in Chicago’s schools, transit, and social programs can be addressed.
Amanda Holmes is a senior philosophy major from Atlanta, GA. She is vice president of the Philosophy Club. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.
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