The campaign to save Chicago from the Olympics is heating up. Gapers Block blogger Ramsin Canon exhorts Chicago, Say No to the Olympics!, and No Games: Chicago fights the good fight on Facebook.

Meanwhile, in addition to the items featured in our very own Not Chicago store, you can show your support with these these more subtle anti-Olympics t-shirts, apparently from the Chicago Reader, over at CafePress.

Chicago was one of three finalist sites selected by ISOC this week; no big surprise there, even though Chicago is just about the last place on earth where the Olympics ought to be held. The Reader offers this bit of advice to Mayor Daley as he strives for immortal mediocrity: lie. "Keep saying the games will cost no more than $500 million in public money, even though they're going to cost much more than that. ... Keep saying it's all about putting Chicago in the international spotlight, even though it's really about doling out contracts, sparking real estate deals, and feeding your ego." Read the full article for more.

We have a new logo! What do you think?

The Not Chicago store has re-opened, with t-shirts, bumper stickers, and other fine merchandise from ArtsCafe.com. Show your support for the cause, and help keep Chicago Olympics-free!

Chicago wins, Chicagoans lose. The USOC has selected Chicago's bid over L.A.'s to send along to the IOC, so we'll have to put up with two more years of political posturing and corporate boasting before the IOC finally rejects Chicago's bid in late 2009.

Local news reports say a majority of Chicagoans are happy about this. But rooting for Chicago to "win" over another city isn't the same thing as actually wanting to have the Olympic nuisance inflicted upon our fine city. We need to be careful not to confuse civic pride with responsible policymaking.

Gov. Blagojevich has just announced that the State of Illinois will kick in $150 million in taxpayer funds if the Chicago Olympics fiasco ends up losing money. That's on top of the $500 million that Mayor Daley and the City of Chicago have already guaranteed. Of course, these financial commitments are peanuts compared to all of the other public and charitable funds that will be squandered on the Olympics, even if the event does meet the unrealistic financial projections being hawked by its promoters. (Couldn't we, um, use some of that money to fix our streets or educate our kids instead?)

For comparison, the budget for the 2012 Summer Games in London has risen to $18 billion -- nearly four times the original bid. Based upon our own experience with Millennium Park, we can expect Chicago to be ready for the 2016 Summer Games four years behind schedule, and the cost will be at least triple whatever they budget for.

The USOC is expected to announce on April 14 whether it intends to nominate Chicago or Los Angeles for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. For coverage of breaking events, check Not Chicago, Behind the Bid, 2016Chicago.com, Chicagoist, and GamesBids.com. If we're lucky, this will all be over in a couple of weeks. Otherwise, we'll waste even more millions of dollars promoting Chicago to the IOC over the next couple of years.

The truth leaks out... gradually.

First, Mayor Daley says that the Olympics won't cost Chicago taxpayers a cent. Then, it turns out the city will have to put up a $500 million guarantee. Now, we learn that the Metropolitan Pier Authority plans to sell air rights worth over $100 million, and give the money to the Olympic boondoggle.

Of course, this is all on top of the billions of dollars worth of inconvenience, lost productivity, etc., that we'll all suffer if the Olympics are held here. Not to mention all of the private corporate "donations" that will be squandered on the Olympics (including over $30 million that has already been collected).

Surely this money could be better spent on more worthwhile endeavors -- fixing the Dan Ryan, widening the Ike, overhauling the failing CTA, or investing in our public schools all come to mind.

Here's a banner you can use to link to Not Chicago:

The Not Chicago store is now open. Show your support for sending the Olympics somewhere else with t-shirts, bumper stickers, and more!