William Petersen (Gil Grissom) of CSI is showing his support for Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 Olympics by lending his voice to a commercial touting the city and it’s remarkable spirit.

In the nearly four-minute commercial, Petersen says, “’Make no small plans’ has long been our city’s official motto. From Daniel Burnham’s bold vision after the great fire to the creation of Millennium Park, Chicago has always been a place where dreamers and pragmatists live in perfect harmony.” His voice comes in again later to say, “We may be known as the city that works, but we also enjoy our fair share of play. For some twenty-six miles, in fact, green parkway marries with blue lakefront to create an urban oasis for the entire city to enjoy. Add to that world class museums and many festivals that dot the calendar and you have a city that celebrates life on a daily, if not hourly, basis.”

Petersen’s support for Chicago stems from the fact that he grew up there and got his acting start on the Chicago stage. The hometown boy is giving back to his city by lending his voice to a project that would mean so much to Chicago.

On July 26, 2006, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) narrowed its list of candidate cities to host the 2016 Olympics to Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. In November 2006, San Francisco dropped out. Some might say Chicago is owed their shot at the Olympics as the city holds the dubious honor of being the only city to have had an Olympics taken away. The 1904 summer games were originally to be held in Chicago, but were moved to St. Louis to coincide with the World’s Fair.

The USOC will meet on April 14, 2007 to review the bids of Chicago and Los Angeles to select between them. The candidate city will be submitted to the International Olympic Committee on September 15. The outcome will be determined in 2009.

Visit The William Petersen Appreciation Page to view the commercial. Additional information about Chicago’s 2016 Olympic bid may be found at Wikipedia.

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