Big shoulders make big impression

It's too bad, as one member of Chicago's Olympics bid committee said, that the International Olympic Committee inspection team couldn't have made its visit to Chicago just a little later, when the sun glinting off the lakefront, the streets lined with flowers bursting with color and parks filled with tourists and families enjoying a warm spring day would highlight even more the wonderful spirit of the city.

But aside from that, the delegation got a vivid look at what it might mean to let the nation's big-shouldered city play host to the world for the 2016 Olympic Games. For personality firepower alone, it's hard to imagine any of the other three cities vying for the honor - Rio de Janeiro, Madrid and Tokyo - will be able to muster the glitterati who stepped up to support Chicago's bid.

Politically, top federal officials like federal adviser Valerie Jarrett and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton assured the committee that the nation would pull out all the stops to make it easy and safe for visitors from around the globe to see what Chicago has to offer. And, the committee may have been even more impressed by the commitment of local government officials - most notably the reputation of Mayor Richard Daley as the leader of a "city that works."

"This is one of the strongest and most accomplished mayors in America. He is a person on whom you can depend to get things done," The Associated Press quoted Darryl Seibel, USOC spokesman. That kind of impression must overshadow the Rod Blagojevich indictment, issued as committee members arrived.

In the entertainment world, are there personalities anywhere on the planet more respected or revered than Chicagoans Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jordan, who lent their prestige and experience to wooing the IOC?

Hosting an Olympics, everyone knows, is no mean feat. Chicago's bid estimates it will cost $4.8 billion, including nearly $1 billion for the Olympic Village and nearly $400 million for the Olympic Stadium. And, with 2016 so far in the future, it can be hard to envision the excitement and joy - not to mention jobs and tourist dollars - that could come with hosting an Olympics.

But with the images of the spectacle of Beijing still stirring in our memories, we can't help considering the pride and energy that would burst forth if the great minds, imaginations and energies of this tremendous region were employed in the service of welcoming the world's greatest athletes and their fans. Indeed, for pure work ethic, determination and drive, we're hard put to think of any place in the world more attuned to the spirit of Olympic competition than our own.

Members of the IOC committee were, of course, noncommittal as they left the city on Tuesday. Chicago is the first of the four city bids they must evaluate, and, as one IOC member stressed, only one bid can win.

But the committee members did acknowledge they were impressed by Chicago. We're glad for that, and we can add only one point to the committee: Just think how impressed you'll be if we actually get the nod.