Chicago has sought to host the Olympics several times, but has never won the gold. The closest call came in 1904, but St. Louis stole the Games from Chicago’s grasp. More than a century later, it’s the 16th of September, with 16 days left until the ’16 Olympics site is decided. Here’s a look back at 16 key moments in the current bid:
1
July 2004 Mayor Daley scoffs at the idea of Chicago hosting the Games: “The Olympics is a construction industry. They wanted$2 million from me just to make a proposal. They want to build everything new.”
2
July 2005 The Tribune reports that Daley is seriously considering a bid for the 2016 Olympics.
3
December 2005 Daley floats the idea of luring a second NFL team to Chicago and building a domed stadium big enough to be used for the Olympics. (Soldier Field isn’t.) Nothing came of that idea; the current plan calls for a temporary Olympics stadium in Washington Park on the South Side.
4
May 2006 Aon founder Patrick Ryan is named to head Chicago’s bid committee.
5
March 2007 The City Council overwhelmingly approves a $500 million guarantee to back the Olympics bid. Also, the Chicago Park District votes to reserve $15 million to help pay for a sports venue if the city wins the 2016 Games.
6
April 2007 Chicago becomes the official U.S. bid city, having bested Houston, Philadelphia, San Francisco and finally L.A.
7
September 2007 Chicago admits a logo no-no. The original Chicago 2016 logo violated an International Olympic Committee rule that only host cities — not bid cities — can use the torch symbol. Chicago 2016 adopts a new logo with the six-pointed star that adorns the city’s flag.
8
June 2008 Chicago becomes a 2016 Olympics finalist, pitted against Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro.
9
February 2009 A Tribune poll shows that Chicago area voters support the city’s Olympic bid by a 2-to-1 ratio. A week later, Chicago submits its more than 500-page bid book to the IOC. It includes the $500 million city guarantee, another $500 million in private insurance coverage, and a $150 million pledge for backing from the state. (Two months later, Gov. Quinn signs a bill boosting the state’s financial guarantee for the Games to $250 million.)
10
March 2009 Chi-cago changes its bid tag-line to “Let Friendship Shine.” The original slogan, “Stir the Soul,” was difficult to translate. In some languages, it meant “Stir your insides.”
11
March 2009 During pothole season, city workers and contractors race to repave roads in Washington Park, even as Chicago forgoes resurfacing projects on major streets because of funding shortfalls. One city worker calls it part of “the Olympic plan” — an apparent reference to an upcoming inspection tour by an IOC team.
12
April 2009 Olympic evaluators visit Chicago. A gala at the Art Institute is hosted by Oprah Winfrey and features Obama administration officials Valerie Jarrett and Arne Duncan; Gov. Quinn; former House Speaker Dennis Hastert; and Olympians Nadia Comaneci, Bart Conner and Jackie Joyner-Kersee. About 40 Olympics protesters chant outside. “I don’t understand what they’re complaining about,” Winfrey says. “It’s only going to be good for everyone.”
13
June 2009 After saying for months that Chicago would not sign the IOC’s host-city agreement to cover any funding shortfalls, Daley commits to signing it.
14
August 2009 The Tribune reports that Michael Scott, a Chicago 2016 committee member, was involved in a plan to develop city-owned vacant lots kitty-corner to Douglas Park, the proposed Olympic cycling venue. After initially maintaining that Scott had done nothing wrong, Chicago 2016 officials a week later revise their view, saying the longtime Daley ally — who also is president of the Chicago Board of Education — should have disclosed his involvement earlier and was severing ties with the development.
15
August 2009 A Tribune/WGN poll shows support for the Olympics has dwindled among Chicago residents. Nearly as many oppose hosting the Games (45 percent) as support them (47 percent).
16
September 2009 City Council members jump onto Daley’s Olympics bandwagon, unanimously approving a measure that places the responsibility for cost overruns on taxpayers. And the Chicago delegation to the Oct. 2 IOC meeting begins to take shape. First Lady Michelle Obama is going, as is Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett. Michael Jordan is viewed as unlikely to attend, and President Obama says he cannot commit to attending because of the health-care battle. Oprah Winfrey expresses her willingness to go.
