No Games Chicago

How A Small Group of Citizens Derailed the City's 2016 Olympic Bid

Tom Tresser

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN: 9781032738963
• eBook ISBN: 9781040113653
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: Architecture General

Promoted as a prestigious economic opportunity and often aggressively sought by local leaders, hosting a modern Olympics can in fact be a "city-killer" that racks up billions of dollars in over-budget expenses, degrades the environment, and shreds civil liberties. This book recounts the successful efforts of grassroots organization No Games Chicago to derail Chicago's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics in an entertaining case study of local activism with international reach. The group's detailed strategies and tactics provide a much-needed playbook for scholars, journalists, and activists seeking people-powered alternatives to megaprojects and other tourism-centric economic development schemes.

In a time when vital public services are being cut and curtailed, public spaces diminished, and civil liberties threatened by the over-policing of protests, America continues to dedicate billions of public dollars to private development and sports facilities. The activists of No Games Chicago broke new ground in their fight to represent the voice of the people among established local political powers in the decision-making process for Chicago's Olympic bid. Their story resonates both nationally and globally – over 15 cities around the world have said "No Thank You!" to the Olympics since the success of No Games Chicago.

Relevant to students and chroniclers of deliberative democracy, public policy, media for social change, community organizing, and the economics of sport, No Games Chicago is an enjoyable, practical addition to the literature of citizen governance, urban planning, and economic development.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Endorsement Page
• Half Title page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• About the Author
• Acknowledgments
• 1 How to Use This Book
• 2 Introduction
• 3 Background: The Olympics Are BIG Business
• 4 Background: Chicago Makes Its Play
• 5 What Was at Stake: Chicago Loves “Big Plans”
• 6 The Players: The International Olympic Committee
• 7 The Players: For the City
• 8 The Players: The Opposition
• 9 The Battle for the Bid Begins: Going Public, Part 1
• 10 What Did the Bid Actually Propose?
• 11 Insights and an Insider Drives Strategy and Tactics
• 12 The Research: What Was Learned
• 13 Tactics and Tools
• 14 Going Public, Part 2: April Rally and March – No Games Meets the IOC
• 15 Going Public, Part 3: Operation Cheese – No Games Goes to the IOC
• 16 Star Power and the Bid
• 17 No Games Grows on the Media
• 18 Arrogance, Missteps, Scandal, Attempted Bribes
• 19 Mayor Daley Must Sign the Blank Check: Aldermen Briefed in Secret – No Games Tells All
• 20 Fifty Wards in FIFTY Days and No Games Was There
• 21 Major Push for a Community Benefits Agreement: To What End?
• 22 Who Backed and Paid for the Bid?
• 23 Chicago 2016 Economic Impact Study a Work of Fiction
• 24 How’s This for “Oversight”?: Carrie Austin and Ed Burke
• 25 The Battle for the Bid’s Last Days: A Flurry of City Activity – Whining and Whitewashing
• 26 Heading to Decision Day: Emailing the IOC 70 Days in a Row
• 27 The Tide Is Turned: Chicagoans Say “No Games!”
• 28 Going Public, Part 4: A Protest at City Hall
• 29 Going Public, Part 5: Operation Mermaid – What Happened in Copenhagen – The End of the Battle
• 30 Immediately After the Decision: The Media Gets It Wrong, Again
• 31 Did No Games Make a Difference?
• 32 Delusional Post-Mortems and No Mention of No Games
• 33 The Police Spied on No Games
• 34 The Pricey Legacy of the Bid
• 35 Post Battle Research: The Olympics Are Always Way Over Budget
• 36 The No Games Ripple Effect: No Games Organizer Deported
• 37 Lessons for the Future: Public Policies and Public Imperatives
• 38 Closing Thoughts
• 39 Strategic Playbook
• 40 Online Extras
• 41 Select Literature in the Field
• Index