Owens Academy students on hand to send Olympic bid to Switzerland

By Sara Olkon | Tribune reporter

February 7, 2009

Students from Owens Community Academy on the South Side waved handcrafted paper stars and provided the backdrop for the symbolic send-off of Chicago's "bid book" submission for the 2016 Olympic Games.

"They are lucky stars and we need all the luck we can get," said Chicago 2016 Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Patrick Ryan.

Mayor Richard Daley told the crowd that if Chicago's bid were successful, the Games would "leave a lasting legacy of affordable housing and athletic facilities."

Chicago's $1.1 billion Olympic Village would be built on a 37-acre site on the Near South Side that includes the shuttered Michael Reese Hospital, which the city has agreed to buy for $86 million.

Chicago is competing against Madrid, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro to host the games. The 560-page bid book is Chicago's vision for the Games and includes plans that the International Olympic Committee will review.

A spokeswoman for Chicago 2016 said a copy of the bid book would be available late next week, in keeping with IOC rules.

Some members of the family of the school's namesake—1936 Olympic hero Jesse Owens—attended the event. Owens grandson Stuart Owen Rankin is set to deliver the bid book to Lausanne, Switzerland, by Thursday's deadline.

solkon@tribune.com