On September 29, hundreds attended a protest outside City Hall in downtown Chicago against Chicago's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, and decrying the Olympic bid as a financial boondoggle for the city. Even though some 300 attended the rally, public opinion against Chicago 2016 has grown, with even Chicago corporate media finding a majority of Chicagoans opposed to the bid (meanwhile, Madrid saw half a million people rally FOR Madrid's 2016 Olympic bid). "That these poll numbers couldn't be translated into larger numbers of people on the street yesterday is a reflection of the fact that many religious and community organizations that focus on survival issues that would be directly impacted by these games – food, housing, education, jobs – are apparently intimidated into keeping their opposition silent."

The Chicago bid book, which outlines the financial proposal for Chicago's 2016 bid, was written before the recession hit and many of the anticipated funding streams have since dried up. Thus, funding the Olympics could skyrocket into the billions of dollars with the shortfall paid by city residents and from the city's controversial TIF program — an ostensible program to aid development but which has morphed into a mechanism to funnel public funds into unaccountable slush funds controlled by Mayor Daley and approved surrogates.

Activism on the Olympics in Chicago has increased, with No Games Chicago sending delegates to Copenhagen where the final vote will take place on October 2nd. The Chicago 2016 publicity machine, run by the controversial PR group Hill & Knowlton, has deployed an all-star team to sway the International Olympic Committee, including President Obama and even possibly Michael Jordan. Despite this blitz, analysts say that Rio De Janeiro is still a slight favorite to win the 2016 Olympics.

Past IMC coverage: Feature: Chicago Opposition to 2016 Olympics Bid Ramps Up | Video: No Games Chicago Rally in Chicago | Video: Critical Mass Opposes the Olympics in Chicago

Additional coverage: No Games Chicago | NGC Copenhagen Coverage | Chicago Reader's Coverage of the Chicago 2016 Olympics Bid | Chicago 2016 Olympics meets the public: full audio | Truthout: The Invisible Fourth Pillar