Ryan says developers will have to take out an insurance policy that would pay for construction of the Olympic village even if the real estate market stays soft and banks won't loan money for the project.
A Civic Federation report called estimates on income from the sale of sponsorships "optimistic," and Ryan concedes there's no insurance to cover that.
"The things we have a moral responsibility to deliver on insurance guys aren't going to say 'take a holiday, we'll pay sponsorships if you can't sell 'em.' That's not going to happen. You can't insure a moral hazard of laziness and ineptitude, you all know that," said Patrick Ryan, Chicago 2016 Chairman.
On Friday, the International Olympic Committee took the unprecedented step of agreeing to cover some of the budget overruns on next year's winter games in Vancouver.