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Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympic Games continues a rich history in the city, said Ron Huberman, MBA ’00, MPP ’00, recently appointed president of the Chicago Transit Authority and former chief of staff to Mayor Richard J. Daley. That legacy includes government and business working together to rebuild the city after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, to prepare for the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893, and to publish the Burnham Plan in 1909 Huberman told the student-led GSB Government and Politics Group at its annual spring reception on April 27 at Gleacher Center. Huberman sighted Millennium Park as the most recent example of Chicago’s commitment to public-private partnership.
The city teamed with the private sector in its Olympic bid in order to leverage Chicago’s best intellectual capital, to raise funds for the project, and to rally the support of the community, he said. “Many, many corporations and professional service firms from around Chicago have been amazing in this effort. Local companies have donated hundreds of thousands of man hours and helped position Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in the best possible light. Thanks to the contributions of Chicago’s business community, we’re now in a position to win at the international level.”
If Chicago wins the bid, Huberman said, the city hopes to leave a variety of legacies for both the City of Chicago and the Olympic Movement. Huberman stressed two major legacies from the 2016 Olympics: a rejuvenation of the city’s South Side—in particular the lakefront there—and creation of high-speed transportation between airports and the center of the city, he said. “The richness of our beautiful lakefront will be extended south of McCormick Place with the development of the Olympic Village and fill in what some have called the missing tooth on the shores of Lake Michigan,” Huberman said. “We’re opening the lakefront to an entire community, while developing a whole new community, all through private investment. It’s another area where the Chicago business community will make our Olympic dreams come true.”
Additionally, Huberman discussed plans to construct the Olympic Stadium on the South Side in Washington Park, adjacent to the University of Chicago campus. The stadium will be built for the Games to accommodate 80,000 spectators, but will be converted after the Games to a 5,000 seat amphitheatre capable of hosting athletic and cultural events. “The innovative plan for the Olympic Stadium in Washington Park was developed thanks to the pro-bono services of Chicago’s talented architectural community. The design ensures that we are able to do what is right by the Olympic Movement, but also leave a legacy venue that fits the needs of the community.”
Perhaps the stiffest competition Chicago faces will come from the city of Rio de Janeiro, he said. “Rio is very interesting and a real challenge,” Huberman said. “The Olympic Games have never been held in South America, and Rio is an attractive option. It just means we will have to be all that much smarter in putting together our bid and educating the international community about the greatness of Chicago.”
Greg Diephouse, an evening and weekend student who co-chairs and founded the Government and Politics Group, said the group chose Huberman as a speaker to cast a spotlight on Chicago’s efforts to attract the Olympics, in particular the proposed construction of the Olympic stadium so close to the University of Chicago. “The fact that the private sector is so involved in the process makes it especially relevant for us,” Diephouse said. “Our theme as a group is to use our MBA skill sets in the public sector. This is a classic example of a private-public partnership.”
—Phil Rockrohr