Chicago Communities Speak Out On Olympics 2016
Below is a summary of statements given by representatives from 4o of Chicago’s 77 Communities


Female-61-Auburn Gresham….”I don’t feel the Games will be of any benefit to the Black Community”.

Female-6o-Woodlawn….”We don’t want to be uprooted and to do this for some games, that’s crazy!”

Female-68-Woodlawn….”I’m a senior and I’ve been hearing talks about what’s goin to happen to Black people, seniors, poor people etc. We will be replaced by the Olympics.

Female-28-Pilsen….”I believe the Olympics will bring more police harassment/brutality than usual to my neighborhood.”

Male-59-Rogers Park….”The Olympics is a crime against humanity”.

Male-69-Woodlawn….”What about putting the money towards seniors health?”

Male-25-McKinley Park….”Every year now, the city goes over budget. That brings mores taxes and layoffs. When projects like Millennium Park can go 325 million (double over the original budget) just imagine the possible cost overruns for development the size of the Olympics.”

Male-51-West Ridge…. “Our family, friends and neighborhoods will not allow these elitist, corrupt, fascist Olympics in our city, schools, clinics. Housing is too important!”

Female-63-Hyde Park…. “Mayor Daley should have been stopped when he took over the Park District. The city council should be held accountable for what this Mayor Daley has been able to do to this city during his administration.”

Male-26-Hyde Park…. “We don’t want the Olympics. With the economy as it is in the city, we can’t afford it.”

Male-72-Near North…. “The Olympics is in essence, a private event whose benefits will be enjoyed by major promoters and developers.”

Female-64-Oakley…. “Black companies have lost all business downtown and on the lakefront. Therefore, if we cannot work now, we will not work for/during the Olympics”

Male-41-Grand Boulevard (Bronzeville)…. “They plan to put us in FEMA camps and control the population.”

Male-65-Kenwood/Oakland…. “The community has been tricked into believing that they will get a convenant called a “Benefits Agreement.”

Male-56-Chatham…. “This is Chicago clout”.

Female-60-Near North…. “This city cannot handle it financially or socially. Daley should be ashamed of himself.”

Female-54-Grand Boulevard (Bronzeville)….”The Olympics has already begun to show problems for the citizens. The housing courts are overcrowded with African American residents/home owners who are being targeted.”

Female-54-South Shore…. “I’m against whatever Daley is for.”

Female-68-Chatham…. “The Olympics should be built on the land by the railroad under Roosevelt Rd.”

Female-28-West Lawn…. “The Olympics sucks. It will devastate the entire city.”

Female-58-Hyde Park…. “Cost to the city, missing information, history of the Olympics and Daley’s record are the reasons why the Olympics are not good for Chicago.”

Male-51-East Garfield…. “Building Chicago for Chicagoans. This should be our message.”

Female-44-Park Manor…. “The revenue gained from the Olympics will not help the people displaced from their neighborhoods.”

Male-60-Englewood…. “It won’t stop the gangs.”
Male-30-Englewood…. “Due to the economy and rise in crime, we will suffer.”

Male-23-Albany Park…. “The Olympics can affect us by higher taxes and other products becoming more expensive.”

Male-23-Oaklawn…. “The Olympics would be great if they come to Chicago because it would bring true champions to a great city. Like Michael Phelps and motivate our city. Being in a tourist friendly area is also entertaining on its’ own.”

Male-37-Grand Bollevard (Bronzeville)….”I really don’t think it would come here until our home has become stable. Also, we need to get this crooked mayor we have out.”

Female-24-Albany Park…. “I think if the Olympics comes to Chicago it will be good and bad. Good because it will make Chicago look good and be an attraction. Bad because people may lose their homes due to the construction and possibly taxes and living expenses might go up.”

Male-26-Norridge…. “I think if the Olympics were to be held in Chicago there would be an influx of recreational facilities to appeal to tourists.”

Male-22-Logan Square…. “I believe the impact that the Olympic Games would have on the city, is that it will expose the many problems Chicago has. With all the many people that would be flocking to the city, something is liable to happen. But on the bright side, it will show the beauty of the city and would probably be great for business.”

Male-22-Humboldt Park…. If the Olympics is held in Chicago, I think prices on taxes, gas and public events will rise higher than what they already are. I don’t think the mayor will want to show the ghetto parts of Chicago, so he will probably get rid of them and the people not caring who is affected in the process. I honestly believe the Olympics will just raise a lot of prices on simple necessities to renew the city of Chicago for tourists.”

Female-23-Portage Park…. “It would be a good opportunity for jobs but bad due to the southside area community having to re-locate or having the stadium be useless after the Olympics leaves it becomes an abandoned building.”

Female-35-Greater Grand Crossing…. “I believe it will help bring revenue in but a lot of people will have to move and relocate. So, it will inconvenience a lot of people.”

Female-22-Edgewater…. “People are going to go further broke to travel to Chicago and see the Olympics. At a time like this, our economic system is not going to get any better. Also, perhaps few people may think that by having the Olympics in Chicago this may make history.”

Male-25-Edgewater…. “Chicago is already one of the worst places to live in. With the Games, Chicago will not be able to meet the needs of the overwhelming number of visitors that will flock here. It will probably end up in worst shape than Atlanta was when the Games were last held on U.S. soil.”

Female-30-Forest Park…. “It is hard to believe that the community around Douglas Park will not change with the Olympics. I am a proponent of change if it benefits the community as it stands now. However, if they build up the surrounding community results in massive relocation and displacement, then the committee is not really doing all it can to protect or benefit us.”

Female-47-Garfield Park…. “I think the Olympics will greatly impact my community because of gentrification. I believe our children will be highly affected by this change.”

Male-29-Kenwood…. “I disagree with bringing the Olympics to Chicago because the areal reserved for the Olympics to take place would cause a lot of people in that area to lose their homes. It would also cause the property level to raise so house would not be affordable in that area.”