Chicago makes Olympic pitch

LAUSANNE, Switzerland: Chicago led off the presentations yesterday of the four cities bidding for the 2016 Olympics, stressing strong support from the White House and offering financial guarantees for the multi-billion-dollar project.

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 lengthy question-and-answer session.

"It was a good discussion," Ryan said. "There were lots of good questions, very healthy dialogue. We would have been worried if there weren't a lot of questions."