Disappointed Chicagoans might want to point the finger at Rio de Janeiro for securing the 2016 Olympics.  It's a waste of time to blame Rio, or even the IOC, or USOC.   Hosting an Olympiad is an honor, but also a challenging responsibility, and apparently Rio put on a persuasive presentation. 

Chicago, Madrid, and Tokyo also had some positive factors going for them, but the fatigue factor and politics of the IOC and other national Olympic Committees played a major role in Rio's selection.  Spain had already hosted the 1992 Barcelona Games, and Japan has hosted one Summer and two Winter Olympics already.  North America (Canada, Mexico, and the USA) will have hosted eleven Olympic Games following Vancouver 2010.

By contrast, South America has never hosted this global event, and so the time was ripe to give Brazil a chance to showcase what it can pull off seven years from now.  Rio residents will have to clean up the city, tighten up on security, and make sure that existing and new facilities will be ready in time for the lighting of the flame.  It's a great opportunity for an emerging power such as Brazil to organize a successful Games and display its hospitality.

One wonders if the continent of Africa ought to be given consideration for the 2020 Games.  Africa has never hosted the Games, and that is worth considering.  Could South Africa develop the infrastructure to host an event of this magnitude eleven years from now?  In the fast paced and unpredictable world of the 21st century, anything is possible.