Who Would Pay for Chicago's Olympics?

This is a rush transcript from "Glenn Beck," October 1, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

GLENN BECK, HOST: America, can I ask you a question?

Our soldiers are dying in Afghanistan. The president has taken very little time to meet with — in fact, I think he's had one meeting. There's been a recommendation on his desk for — well, since August, and he hasn't done anything about that.

We're hemorrhaging money. You know this is unsustainable. I know it is.

We're talking about health care, cap-and-trade, all the big things that are going on. We have the president taking off with a 747 today over to Copenhagen. Yesterday, his wife and Oprah flew over in the 727 that you paid for.

Is it a little insulting? Can I ask the question: why is this a priority? Is this a priority in anybody's life? Why is this the priority?

Yesterday, we told you how bringing the Olympics to Chicago is potentially a corrupt political move. Hmm. You think? But look at how this would hurt the American taxpayer, not just Chicago. The actual numbers are far, far worse.

Michelle Malkin, syndicated columnist, FOX News contributor; and Eric Bolling is the happy host of "Happy Hour" on the FOX Business Network.

Although you're not really happy when you come here, Eric. You're really — you're really not. You're bringing like — you're bringing me down, harshing the mellow of the White House by saying this is a — this is a boondoggle.

ERIC BOLLING, "HAPPY HOUR" CO-HOST: Glenn, you know, you talked about L.A. making money. L.A. made money but they forgot to add in a few things. They forgot to add in the security: It could be two or three hundred million dollars for security. They forgot to add in infrastructure.

By the way, when they do the math, the accounting post-Olympics, they keep those aside. They don't count those for some reason.

Let's talk about Chicago for a second. Chuck that.

Let's talk about London for a second. They're $9 billion over already and their games aren't until 2012. This will be an absolute mess. Beijing, you talked about Beijing, 25 billion dollars.

BECK: OK.

BOLLING: Athens, 17 billion dollars. There's no way that they're going to make money in Chicago. It's a lot of money…

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: Somebody is going to make money.

BOLLING: Right.

BECK: Michelle Malkin, this is all about political favors. This is about corruption. Yesterday — it was amazing to me. The White House blog — I get on yesterday and I talk about — I mean, the connections here with Valerie Jarrett. She brought in Van Jones. She's overseeing ACORN and SEIU, the National Endowment of Arts, what they say is, "Oh, no, the National Endowment of Arts, she wasn't on that phone call. We never said she was."

This is what their — this is — with all the resources, all the power, all the money, everything, this is what they come after the show with?

MICHELLE MALKIN, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, and there were two other points in the White House reality check blog post that I think bear mentioning here, Glenn. And one is the way that they pooh-poohed and downplayed what a basket case Chicago is in the fiscal sense. And you mentioned their deficit — $469 million last year, and another two hundred and fifty to three hundred million this year, which is why Mayor Daley is desperately trying to raise cash with lease schemes — like the ones you mentioned with the parking meters and Morgan Stanley. That's just the tip of the iceberg.

And I think what they cringe at the most, Glenn, is sunlight shed on the den of developers who will make out like bandits if the Chicago bid is successful.

BECK: Michelle, have you...

MALKIN: And this is a case with every host city. They overestimate the benefits, underestimate the costs. Cost overruns are inevitable and taxpayers are on the hook.

And in this case, it's not just Chicago taxpayers but also the rest of us, because — as I've reported, Valerie Jarrett has met with HUD, the housing and urban development department, federal level. She took the chair of the Chicago 2016 bid, Lori Healey, an old friend of hers from the Windy City, with her to try and figure out schemes to put federal taxpayers on the hook to pay for the $1 billion Olympic Village.

BECK: Did you notice that Mayor Daley said in that audio we played just a few minutes ago, he said, "No tax, no local taxpayers or no local tax money will go," and he was very clear to correct himself on, "I'm not going to screw the people in Chicago even though I don't believe that for a second, I'm going to screw the rest of the nation"?

MALKIN: Yes, well that — well, yes, right? But he's lying both ways as well, because the $86 million that was paid for the land that the Olympic Village will be developed on is going to be raised by a gimmick called Tax Increment Financing, and this is used across the country as a way to reward developers who give campaign contributions to politicians. They carve out these districts and then divert property tax hike money away from things like schools and hospitals and to what? Developers.

BECK: OK. Eric, let me ask you this — I noticed that nobody wants to talk about Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City was — I mean, corrupt. If you want to make a joke about, oh, the pious city in America, you would say it's Salt Lake City. The corruption on the Olympics was of biblical proportions until Mitt Romney came in at the last minute and fumigated the whole place. And that's the only reason why they made a profit and it's the only reason why they saved their souls in Salt Lake City.

What is the corruption going to be like with this amount of money in Chicago with this White House?

BOLLING: You know, Valerie Jarrett, funny you should mention. You know what her prior job was? Deputy chief of staff for who? Mayor Richard Daley.

BECK: How did she get the job on the federal — she was on the Federal Reserve board in Chicago. Do either of you guys know? What is her — what is her background that would get her on to the Federal Reserve chair position or a board member in Chicago in the Federal Reserve in Chicago?

BOLLING: Chicago is all cronyism. If you know someone, you're going to move up the ladder. David Axelrod, you know who he was? His P.R. firm handled Mayor Richard Daley's election campaigns and re-election campaigns. It's all, all, all handshake, handshake, wink, pocket.

BECK: Michelle?

MALKIN: Valerie Jarrett comes from one of the most elite families in Chicago. You've talked about her past history, her parents, Glenn. And then, of course, it's not just having served as the chief of staff and the corporate legal counsel for Mayor Daley but also as a city planning commissioner and then bringing the Obamas into the fold.

And then, of course, her role as the chief executive of Habitat Company, which was tasked by a court to oversee public housing for the Chicago Housing Authority. And there again, we come across these conflicts of interest and field of schemes that really need much more sunlight. Because at this moment, there are 11 developers who are competing for bids on the Olympic Village. They are rubbing their hands with glee, Glenn, and one of those companies is the Habitat Company.

Has she or has she not fully divested from Habitat? She said in her blog, in the blog post on the White House yesterday that she had divested from all but one of her real estate investments that might potentially pose a conflict of interest. But the White House has not disclosed which investment that is.

Tell us, is it habitat or not?

BECK: OK.

MALKIN: And if it's not a conflict of interest, why not?

BECK: I bet they — I bet they're posting that right now. Thank you, guys. Appreciate it.

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