"600 words by Esther J. Cepeda"

No brown rings and no education dollars in Chicago's Olympic bid

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

Friday morning, fresh off back-to-back trips to Beijing for the Olympics and the Paralympics, Chicago Bid Chairman Patrick Ryan, a self-described insurance salesman, gave the Executives Club of Chicago a major rah-rah session, accented by a fly in the ointment.

Ryan showed a packed Fairmont Hotel ballroom, flanked by a who's-who of Chicago bid-ness two tear-jerking videos about the virtues of a completely privately-funded 2016 Summer Olympics in Chicago ("We're up against national governments, we're just little private guys, but I think the little guys can win," Ryan said).

The videos' key points?

Video one: to those who don't know our fair city, "which was built by immigrants," its full of surprises, including "the most exciting fine dining in America" and "the people in diverse neighborhoods." Stationing the proposed Olympic village "in the heart of the city," the narrator also referred to Chicago as "the heart of the nation" and, if we were to win the bid, "the focal point of the world."

Video two: our city is full of active and passive sportsters. This piece profiled 12 Chicago kids talking about how the prospect of a Chicago Olympics fuels their dreams to become star athletes.

Ryan also hammered home corporate Chicago's hand in funding the bid – big wink American Airlines! – and the "legacy" programs that will better Chicagoan's lives through sports regardless of whether we get the Games or not. He also went out of his way to press into his enthralled audience that this bid was "all about the people."

In fact, Ryan mentioned that as he and the rest of the 2016 Bid Committee have hosted 102 of the 112 International Olympics Committee members, they've often witnessed those members "be surprised by the ethnicity of our city."

You would be too, if you'd seen the videos. Aside from nice shots from Ukrainian, Chinese, Polish and Mexican parades and music fests, Chicago looked pretty white. For a Bid Committee whose web site goes out of its way to tell the story of the 1.8 million Chicagoans of Mexican-American heritage in this city, not a single Hispanic kid made it into the athlete video.

I won't harp on the fact there was also not a single Latino on the dais – because they were Executive's Club members, not strictly Bid Committee members – not that I could find any trace of Hispanic representation on the leadership team in an extensive clip search.

I wasn't the fly in the ointment, though. Me bringing the lack of Latino up to the politely surprised Ryan didn't amount to nearly the fuss the Rev. James Meeks kicked up when he confronted Ryan about Chicago's educational disparities.

"How can we have a world-class city and second-class schools? What is the 2016 committee going to do about changing the funding formula for public education in the state of Illinois?" Meeks had asked during the Q&A. Ryan responded with a nod back to the legacy programs he'd already touched on.

Out in the foyer afterwards, firmly ensconced in the video camera glare, Meeks held forth some more, asking – rhetorically, this time – why the business community and the media were not concerned about the school funding crisis and why Chicago should want the Olympics when there are murders tearing families apart.

OK, so the Rev has a point: bad schools and murders are indeed a crisis that demands immediate attention. Those facts – and little things like, oh let's say, U.S. born Hispanic residents like Salvador Contreras getting threatened with deportation by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in this "city built by immigrants" – pretty much flies in the face of Ryan's happy proclamation that this city has been "bonded across racial, social and economic boundaries" by the bid.

But what's Chicago's Olympic committee supposed to do about any of that?

I don't care how patriotic the 2016 Bid Committee members are, they're business people salivating at the economic boom that could be generated by the international spotlight an Olympics could shine on Chi-town.

I can respect Rev. Meeks' desire to clang his very worthy school reform bell anywhere it'll jar the silence but shouldn't there be some more thought to picking the battles?

I mean what's next? Is he going to block the runners from crossing the finish line at the Chicago Marathon in the name of poor students? Will he stage a hunger strike at next year's Taste of Chicago? "How can you people cook and eat food in the park when there are poor children being left behind?!"

Sure, the guy knows how to get himself on TV but I'm seeing little else emerge from his very worthwhile crusade.

Chicago is a city on the take. If it beats out Madrid, Tokyo or Rio – who President Lula proclaimed had been "created by God for the Olympics," according to Ryan – there'll be all kinds out looking to get in on the Olympic action.

Meeks is just the tip of the iceberg. A delegation from every conceivable special interest group – from angry Hispanics to ticked-off animal rights nuts to a coalition of miffed left-handers – will be breathing down the necks of the 2016 Olympic bid committee until the winner is declared on October 2, 2009 in Copenhagen, and then beyond, if Ryan gets his way.

Esther J. Cepeda writes the "600 Words" & "Pregunta del Dia" columns, and is also the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Her views and reporting do not necessarily reflect those of ISAC. "600 words" is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact eejaycee@600words.com

Loving Lorena

"600 Words" by Esther J. Cepeda

Like Roosevelt Hicks longing for the same respect in business he finally got on the links of Pittsburgh in August Wilson’s play Radio Golf, I longed to roam the back nine.

Not as a pro, nah, just good enough to go out on a Saturday with rich white people and not make a fool of myself.

To me, like to many others, getting out on the green was the ultimate symbol of "making it." Never mind the satisfaction waltzing into private clubs previously closed off to women and minorities – the passage of time mostly took care of that – to me, gaining access to the venue of big money deals and long-lasting partnerships was the important part. I knew the very fabric of American business was forged out in the sun somewhere between the fifth and the twelfth hole, and I wanted in.

Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Immediately after Tiger made golf accessible to just about anyone – heck if a "Cablinasian" could become a golf rock star, what would stop me from donning the silly shorts? – and I’d finally bought a set of golf clubs, fate stepped in. I shattered my wrist, and summer of 2004 passed without me making it to the driving range.

Leave it to me to be a Juana-come-lately.

It’s not enough that one of the top golfers in the world is a tiny woman who, as a child, fell and broke both wrists but somehow emerged with magical carpals. Not enough that this young Lorena Ochoa – all of 26 and just won the Sybase Classic for the third straight year on Sunday – is an international superstar and a national hero in Mexico. Yes, that country where the only white ball that gets around grass is made of leather and aimed at a net, and the only multi-millionaires golf.

Nope, my moment has passed because golf is on the outs.

In towns all over America dilapidated golf courses are being turned over to suburban mommies and their energetic broods who need a place to kick soccer balls between snacks. And just in time. After all, modern man is too devoted to family to spend endless hours perfecting his double-cross on an ocean of chemically treated, water-hogging, ecologically abominable turf. What sort of monster leaves his (or her) family at home and drives his SUV out to the suburbs to walk on sublime eco-terror? And in these economic times, who can afford it?

Not me and not a lot of people. According to the National Golf Foundation and the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association the total number of people who play has declined or remained flat each year since 2000, dropping to about 26 million from 30 million. The number who play 25 times a year or more fell about a third to 4.6 million in 2005 from 6.9 million in 2000, and those tee-ing up eight or more times a year is slipping as well. In my neck of the woods angry words and white, dimpled insults are being driven home as park districts struggle to placate residents fighting over what to do with thirsty, decaying golf courses.

It all adds up to me not discovering whether my wrist’s metal plate would help my fade. Never will I get to know my bogeys from my birdies, or my shambles from my scrambles. Seal a big money deal while swinging through the sweet spot? Not meant to be.

Farewell to my fairway fantasies, the great game shall never be mine. I guess I’ll just have to live out my golf glory on TV through the great Lorena. Not the same as mulligan-ing with money men, but it’ll do.

Esther J. Cepeda writes the “600 Words” & “Pregunta del Dia” columns, and is also a Director at the Chicago-based United Neighborhood Organization. Her reporting and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of UNO. “600 words” is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact eejaycee@600words.com