As Chicago tries for 2016 Games, activists push for major cleanup

The way activists see it, there's no better time to get Chicago's most blighted neighborhoods cleaned up than when City Hall is trying to put a shine on its pitch to win the 2016 Olympics.

So on Thursday, they led reporters, photographers and even an official with Chicago 2016 on a bus tour of the city's South Side. They say that area isn't kept nearly as clean as Chicago's lakefront and other areas.

Diane Dixon of an activist group called Action Now says it can only help the city's bid for the Olympics to clean up the whole city -- not just the most picturesque parts -- before the International Olympic Committee inspects Chicago.

Chicago is a finalist for the 2016 Games along with Tokyo; Rio De Janeiro, Brazil; and Madrid, Spain.