Obama makes presidential pitch for 2016 Olympics

Describing Chicago as an international city that he and his wife and children call home, President Barack Obama in a video welcomed Olympic evaluators here today to begin the task of grading whether the city is ready to host the 2016 games.

Obama, who remains overseas, described a city that grew up under architect Daniel Burnham's refrain — used a lot in the city's bid for the games — "make no small plans, they have no magic to stir the soul," and called the city a great American melting pot.

"It’s a city where the world’s races and religions and nationalities all live and work and play and reach for the American Dream that brought them here; where our civic parades wave the colors of every culture; where our classrooms are filled with the sounds of the world’s languages," he said, noting that jazz, ranchera and bhangra can be heard "down the street from one another."

But beyond that, the President told the 13-member International Olympic Committee's evaluation commission, Chicago is his home.

"After your visit, once you discover the Chicago that I know — the city that I made my home, the city where my wife grew up, the city where we raised our daughters just blocks from where these games will be held — I am confident you will discover that you’re already in the perfect host city for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games," the President said.

Reporters watched the video in a screening separate from the meeting between Chicago 2016 officials, Mayor Daley and the IOC evaluation team. Officials said the proceedings were closed to the press at the wishes of the IOC, which will examine over four days everything from sporting venues to the city's transit system. It was unclear when Obama recorded the video.

But in it, he talks about how the 2016 games in Chicago could "stir the soul" of the entire globe. Chicago 2016 officials now use the slogan, "Let friendship shine," dropping the old "Stir the soul" slogan after organizers realized its translation in several languages could be interpreted as "Stir the innards," a Chicago 2016 official said.

While Chicago is the first to be evaluated, the IOC team will also be grading finalist cities Rio de Janeiro, Madrid and Tokyo.

Today's closed-door discussions will focus on environmental issues, transportation, proposed sporting venues across the city, and the Olympic Village planned for the Michael Reese Hospital campus in the 2900 block of South Ellis.

The IOC evaluation commission will tour the venues and Olympic Village site on Sunday. By the time they wrap up their work on Tuesday, the group will be prepared to report back to the 100-plus members of the IOC, which will vote on a host city for the games on Oct. 2 in Copenhagen.

It was unclear just when Chicago will start talking about money. At an international sporting conference in Denver last week, Ryan said he and others will go into "granular detail" with the evaulation team about funding the games.

The $4.8 billion pricetag has raised the ire of some, including the "No Games Chicago" group, which protested in the Loop Friday amid concerns about the economic downturn and whether taxpayers will foot the bill.

Pat Ryan, Chief Executive Officer of Chicago 2016, says that won’t happen, and that boosters will be seeking private donations if the city wins the bid.

Chicago 2016's financial safety net includes a $450 million "rainy day fund;" as much as $375 million in IOC cancellation insurance; another $500 million in insurance coverage; and a "last-resort" $500 million guarantee of taxpayer money from the City of Chicago.

Unlike Chicago, the other three finalist cities have national government guarantees backing the entire costs of their bids.