I had the chance to be in Chicago when word came from Copenhagen that the Windy City had been eliminated in the first round of competition for the Olympics.  In my unofficial survey of folks, I found more relief than anything.  One person said traffic was bad enough without the Olympics.  Another said the city’s poor would have been displaced if Chicago won the games. The city’s mayor blamed the media for refusing to act as cheerleaders for the games.

Another Chicagoan put it another way.  He said losing the games just eliminated another opportunity for graft.