It’s a happy time for charitable organizations now that the IOC has said no to Chicago’s Olympic dreams. Those stalwarts of the Chicago cultural landscape can breathe easy knowing that now all of the city’s private funding won’t be sucked up into an event that would likely put the big chill on non-Olympic fundraising efforts for the next several years. Though the city’s cultural leaders were gamely making a public show of support for the city’s efforts, many were privately wringing their hands in fear, as early feedback from some of the most important charitable givers indicated a real risk of the Olympics hoovering all the air out of the room once it became a reality.
