Olympic Snub Has Silver Lining for Chicago

Chicago failed in its bid to land the Olympics, but look on the bright side, the Tribune urges: If the city builds on the bright ideas and redevelopment plans designed to sway the IOC, it can have all the benefits with none of the hassle. “Bidding for an Olympiad forced Chicago, its leaders and its citizens, to focus on what works and what doesn't,” the editors write. “It made all of us think to the future.”

There won’t be an “Olympic Village on the site of Michael Reese Hospital. But the city owns that land now and Mayor Richard Daley has promised to develop it into a new neighborhood anyway.” The Olympic bid turned Chicagoans’ eyes towards the necessity of childhood fitness, the problem of transportation infrastructure, and the bright possibilities of public-private partnerships—and that progress needn’t be forgotten. “Be proud, Chicago. You went for gold.” (More Chicago stories.)