Daley says he likes being the underdog

I am opposed to the Olympics coming to Chicago for several reasons. Most importantly, the Chicago plans include destruction of Forest Preserve property in Lake County, Illinois; this was a plan concocted in secret by the Lake County Forest Preserve district. This is blatant misuse of forest preserve property, and is opposed by most of the taxpayers in Lake County.

Secondly, Chicago could not even properly host the Chicago Marathon earlier this month, resulting in the death of a young athlete. For Chicago to leave the runners without the basic hydration required in running a marathon is despicable.

The media has been, of course, pushing for Chicago's success in the Olympic bid. They are now touting what a wonderful job Chicago is doing with the boxing tournament in town. Keep in mind, folks, the boxing tournament only has 700 participants....as many people as is in Wauconda's small town high school.(Wauconda happens to be the proposed site of the equestrian venue that would destroy a beautiful forest preserve).

For Mayor Daley to pat himself on the back for a successful boxing tournament is a joke. The size of that tournament is NOWHERE near the size of the Olympics (estimated 10,000 participants). Plus, the boxing tournament does not draw near the crowd as the Olympics.

I hope the IOC chooses another country for the Olympics. It is not worth the destruction of a forest preserve, and the possible negligent killing of more athletes thru Chicago's failure to provide adequate hydration.

My vote is for anywhere BUT Chicago.

The Olympic Equestrian Venue should not be in a forest preserve. It will affect the environment and we do not pay for forest preserve land for them to build something this massive. They have had an offer from Tim Smith to host the Equestrian Venue, but for some reason, the Lake County forest preserve and the Olympic committee want it on forest preserve land. This land which we all pay for is supposed to be set aside for us and our children and wild life and habitat. There is something wrong with this whole picture. You would think that the Lake County Forest Preserve Board would be listeneing to the citizens. But they are not, as there has been a BIG public outcry on this subject. I think they forget that they are public servents. We need people who really care about the environment. If you look at the past history of Olympics, botom line is they have all been a failure one way or another. The Chicago residents already have high taxes and now they to will have to pay for part of the Olympics, which is short term. People need to start taking action on this and voice their opinions. Nothing can change if you do not work for it.

The Lake Co Forest Preserve Pres. Bonnie Thomson Carter still today shows her blatant disrespect towards her contituents' forest preserves. It was Carter who helped orchestrate and railroad the Lakewood Preserve site in Wauconda for the Olympic equestrian events. Very slick and done with little-to-no notification to the tax payers. Carter then immediately hit the airwaves saying it was a "done deal", trying to stifle what she keeps calling today a "minority" opposition. As the opposition to the Lakewood Preserve site is actually MUCH stronger, Carter is now scrambling to move those events to Raven Glen Forest Preserve in Lake Co. Carter is proving once again she is orchestrating the sell-out of tax payers' preserves, all so she (an equestrian herself) can pursue her personal agenda for a gov't-run, equestrian complex.
Carter's Got to Go!

The Equestrian Venue in Lake County (or elsewhere) should be based on real facts - ALL the facts. Unfortunately, the Forest Preserve District leadership is falling all over itself hoping to eake out a donation. The trouble is that they have no clue of what they are doing.
Would you consume many millions worth of public property to get a net "contribution" that is much less and is totally unneeded.
I honestly think the leadership are dumb hicks that think they are going to get rich just by rubbing shoulders with Pat Ryan and the Pritzkers (nothing against them).
Whether on public or private land, we would like to see it here. We would love to see an opportunity we could exploit. But the odds are that the Lake County Forest Preserve District will blow the opportunity.
Leadership suggests that you look at all issues, assess the risks and rewards, benefits and investments. Unfortunately, the District doesn't seem to have much leadership.