Chicago cites White House support and financial guarantees for 2016 Olympic bid

Chicago leads off presentations to IOC members

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Chicago has led off the presentations of the four cities bidding for the 2016 Olympics.

The Chicago team stressed strong support from the White House and offered financial guarantees for staging the games.

Bid leader Pat Ryan and Mayor Richard M. Daley led a six-person delegation that made a 45-minute formal pitch to members of the International Olympic Committee, followed by a question-and-answer session.

Ryan says Chicago showed a video featuring Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to President Barack Obama, in which she reiterated his support for the bid.

Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro and Madrid were to deliver their presentations later.

The IOC will select the host city in Copenhagen on Oct. 2.