Olympic Minded Mayor Daley Will Help UIC If UIC Helps Him

 Beijing London Chicago Association  (Chicago, IL): One effective way to get what you want is to provide incentive. In other words, promise a reward after whatever you want is done. "Johnny if you clean your room first you can go out to play afterwards."

It would appear that Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley is comfortable with the "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" principle as well. Mr. Daley, whose desire to win Chicago hosting privileges for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games is no secret, ushered in the month of February 2007 by visiting the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Once there Mayor Daley gradually, if not subtly, made his point. The mayor started by complimenting the university. Compliments are a page right out of the play book on "getting people to do what you want in order to achieve your objectives". Next, according to the perception of some, Mayor Daley proceeded to "call in old favors" by revealing just how big a risk his father, late Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, took in order to get the University of Illinois at Chicago built.

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"[It] was controversial because many people wanted to build a campus in the western suburbs. But my father fought in regards to building a university right here... [that decision was] the most controversial...[one]...my father made in his political career." "[UIC is now] one of the finest research facilities in the world and I don't think we get enough publicity for that".

Mayor Daley's tactic here was brilliant in its efficiency. The mayor accomplished at least two things at once. Number one he "called in old favors". In other words, many Chicagoans, especially those with strong ties to the UIC or its resources, might feel that the University of Illinois at Chicago owes it to the current Mayor Daley to do all that it can to support him and his objectives. Why? Because if it were not for a Daley, namely Mayor Richard J. Daley, the University of Illinois at Chicago would almost certainly not exist in the form that it does today; which is exactly the way in which it benefits them(Chicagoans with strong ties to it and or its resources). Maybe its called gratitude.

Secondly, in a stroke of genuis Mayor Richard M. Daley visited a critically important issue that has recently begun to haunt his political career. Controversy. From neutralizing Meigs Field to allegations of police torture and brutality in Chicago controversy never seems to be far from the Office of the Mayor. By specifically pointing out just how controversial Mayor Richard J. Daley's decision to build UIC was, and the substantial risks that decision exposed him to, the current Mayor Daley would appear to be making a quick point. Daley decisions can be tremendously controversial, maybe even downright unpopular, but they are right and the best course of action for the City of Chicago.

Mayor Richard M. Daley has revealed his desire to build an aquatic center for water sports contests on the University of Illinois at Chicago campus if certain conditions are met first. One thing seems clear. Mayor Daley wants the UIC, and Chicagoans who benefit from it, to know that good things will happen to the university if, or when, Chicago wins the right to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. That bit of "icing on the cake" just may be strong enough incentive to get them to do what some believe he wants them to do. "Johnny it's getting late; have you finished cleaning your room?"

Chicago, IL and Los Angeles, CA are the only two remaining United States candidate cities competing to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Any winning U.S. candidate city will face international competitors which may include Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, Prague, or Madrid.

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