By Jing Zhao Cesarone

    CHICAGO, August 7 (Xinhua) -- Chicago has distinctive advantages to help win its bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, a confident Chicago bidding committee official said here on Friday.

    Kurt Summers, the chief of staff to the president of Chicago 2016, told Xinhua that they all feel very strongly about their chances.

    "There is no city in the world like Chicago! We have a great setting in the city. The games will be played at our parks along the lake. In addition, we have unprecedented leadership. Our mayor has been here for 20 years. And the president is from Chicago, right down the street from our proposed Olympic Stadium," Summers said.

    Summers currently serves as a senior advisor on a host of issues ranging from governmental affairs and community outreach to the Chicago 2016 legacy strategy and the potential economic, educational, environmental and social benefit of the Games to the City of Chicago.

    He said that the Mayor of Chicago Richard Daley is the one who has the courage to step up and say Chicago wants to compete. "He has been a part of our international presentation team, and will be with us in Copenhagen on October 2 to make a case for IOC to vote for Chicago," Summers said.

    There are only 55 days to go before the International Olympic Committee (IOC) chooses the host city for the 2016 Games on Oct. 2in Copenhagen, Denmark from the four candidate cities of Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.

    Summers said Chicago's diversity would make athletes feel at home.

    "The diversity of our city, the ability to have athletes from 205 countries to come here and find somebody to speak their language and find their native cuisine - that is just an unprecedented offering, in addition to that all of the venues are so close to one another, making it easy for athletes and spectators to enjoy the experience," he said.

    Chicago has got a relatively small budget compared with former hosts Beijing and Athens but Summers said that good infrastructure enable them to lower the cost.

    "We have a very conservative and responsible plan for the proposed budget. If you look at the Beijing and Athens, there is a significant amount of capital infrastructure that was required. But Chicago already got two airports and other facilities that allow us to have a more conservative plan," he said.

    Another boost to Chicago's bid is the support both from average Chicago citizens and U.S. President Barack Obama.

    "They gave us a lot of support. They are very involved in this bid. The people in Chicago largely are very excited about the prospect of winning the bid in October, "said Summers.

    As one of the most famous Chicagoans in the world, President Obama has been a big support of Chicago's bidding even when he was a senator, Summers said.

    "Since he was elected, he has done even more. He has made video messages to the IOC as part of our presentations. He announced in June the creation of the White House Office of Olympic, Paralympic and Youth Sport. This is unprecedented in our country," Summers added.

    Environment protection and post-Games use of the Olympic facilities also weigh heavy on the American candidate city's mind.

    "We have significant plans for reuse of the Olympic facilities. Part of our plan creates sustainable reuse for the components of venues. They are very environmentally friendly. For example, the seats at the Olympic Stadium will be repurposed for a great cause - as wheelchairs for the disabled," Summers said.