Plaintiff Mark A. McMahon appeals the dismissal of his complaint for breach of contract.He claims that the City of Chicago executed and then breached an oral contract with him toproduce artwork for the "Riverwalk Gateway" project. We affirm.

Plaintiff has been a fine and commercial artist for 25 years. His work has beencommissioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), SmithsonianInstitution, O'Hare International Airport, State of Illinois and numerous corporations. In May1998, Janet Attarian, an architect employed by the City of Chicago Department ofTransportation (CDOT), met with plaintiff and asked him to prepare a proposal to produce a 225-feet-long by 9-feet-high ceramic tile mural for the walls of the "Riverwalk Gateway," a tunnelbeneath the Lake Shore Drive bridge across the Chicago River. Plaintiff submitted a proposalwith a price of $317,521. On June 11, 1998, Attarian informed plaintiff that he had beenawarded the contract at the quoted price and he should begin work immediately to meet thedeadline of April 15, 1999. Attarian gave plaintiff a purchase order number, E-8-526. The nextday, plaintiff sent an invoice for one third of the fee to CDOT and referenced the purchase ordernumber. According to the complaint, plaintiff began working "feverishly" on the project. Attarian assisted plaintiff with special arrangements for his preparation of art materials, including"access to a bridge tender's facility so he could sketch from a unique vantage point."

On June 22, 1998, CDOT sent a memorandum to Michael Lash, the curator of public artin the city's department of cultural affairs. The memo was written by Attarian and signed by hersupervisor, Stanley Kaderbek, the chief engineer and deputy commissioner of CDOT's bureau ofbridges and transit. The memo addressed both the Riverwalk Gateway project and a separatepublic art project unrelated to this case. The memo said CDOT had "decided that an artist [forthe Riverwalk Gateway project] who specialized in representational art would be best" and"Mark McMahon was chosen because his style met all the required criteria." The memoconcluded:

"Since none of the artwork was part of the original scope of work[,] wepresented our ideas and choice of artist[] to the Department of Planning, the ParkDistrict and the Mayor's Office. All Departments gave their approval.

It is our hope to involve the public through our chosen artists, therebyallowing us to complete the project in a timely manner. It is our hope that bothprojects will be out for bid by the end of this month. I have enclosed drawingsshowing the scope of the projects and proposed areas for tile. Input from yourDepartment is greatly appreciated, and if you have any suggestions I would behappy to discuss them with you."

In early July 1998, CDOT instructed plaintiff to present his work to Michael Lash and thecity's public art committee (the committee). On July 24, 1998, the project advisory panel, asubcommittee of the public art committee, met to select an artist. Eight artists including plaintiffwere considered. Lash told the panel that plaintiff's samples were more extensive than those ofthe other candidates because of an effort to circumvent the city's official process for selecting artand "mainlining" the selection of plaintiff. Ultimately, artist Ellen Lanyon was selected for theRiverwalk Gateway project. Lash notified plaintiff that he had not been selected.

Plaintiff filed suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleging, inter alia, a violation of the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C.