Bally’s Gains Chicago City Council’s Full Support for $1.7B Casino Project

As expected, the Chicago City Council voted overwhelmingly Wed to okay the city’s concord with Bally’s Corp. and make a motion frontward with the Rhode Island-based company’s plans to build a $1.7 one million million cassino on the city’s Near Second Earl of Guilford Side.

Thanks to the 41-7 vote, Bally’s testament now go game before the IL Gaming Board and seek a license to operate what would be the largest casino inwards the state. It’s expected to have 3,400 one-armed bandit machines and 170 tabularize games. The urban center will also begin process on rezoning the Windy City Tribune’s printing process plant, the selected location for the lasting casino.

City leaders, as Mayor Lori Lightfoot has pointed out, get tried for 30 years to wreak a cassino to the Illinois metropolis. It took lawmaking the Prairie State General Assembly passed inward 2019 to finally undecided the door for that to happen, although lawmakers required to amend the jurisprudence a twelvemonth later to pretend the assess rate more appealing to gaming firms.

Chicago released the collection for the casino proposal inwards Apr 2021. The urban center extended the initial filing deadline past more than ii months to belatedly October. Ultimately, Phoebe proposals were submitted. Two were by Bally’s and were essentially indistinguishable projects at different locations. Benjamin Rush Street Gaming submitted ii proposals with different evolution partners for from each one of its plans, and Hard John Rock International made an proffer as well.

One of the strongest selling points for Bally’s was that it did not have got a casino already in the Chicago area. Lightfoot also said that the company was the only if single to signal a labour grant with local unions, a key requirement for the business deal in a city heavily influenced by organised labor.

The gambling casino throw is expected to make 3,000 twist jobs and 3,000 jobs within the casino.

Lightfoot: Bally’s to Build ‘World-Class’ Destination

Tax revenue from the cassino will go game toward pension off funds for Chicago’s firefighters and constabulary officers. After the permanent cassino opens – that’s expected to happen in 2026 – metropolis leaders look the casino to wrap up about 9% of the city’s pension off commitment. That would discharge upwards metropolis pecuniary resource for other uses and potentially avoid the want to hike property taxes.

Besides the gaming amenities, Bally’s plans a hotel with upwardly to 500 rooms, a 3,000-seat theater, an outdoor music venue, and Captain Hicks dining establishments for the permanent site. Once approved by the IGB for licensure, Bally’s will piece of work a $70 1000000 temporary cassino with 800 one-armed bandit machines that could opened as betimes as next year.

Once Bally’s and the urban center mark the innkeeper agreement, Bally’s testament gelded a $40 meg contain to the city. The city is provision to apply that funding toward pension off costs inward the upcoming fiscal twelvemonth budget, which is expected to experience a shortfall of almost $300 million.

In gain to the assess revenues generated from the casino, Bally’s will ply another $4 billion annually to the city for as long as the accord is inward place.

But Lightfoot told reporters after Wednesday’s voting that the wallop the cassino will experience on Chicago testament move beyond the economic boost it will provide.

Besides creating a world-class entertainment locus for our world-class city, a casino signals to the humans that our saving is on a warm route towards recovery, ready to evolve young and moneymaking projects,” the mayor said. “Additionally, it puts us farther on the track that began when I became mayor. a route towards long-term financial stableness for our city.”

While the casino is expected to aid pull and retain tourists and conventiongoers, the casino is also expected to assist maintain to a greater extent play dollars inwards the nation of Illinois. Windy City CFO Jennie Huong Floyd Bennett has said that the country loses to a greater extent than $330 billion inwards gaming revenue to Robert Indiana casinos annually. a Windy City cassino would keep virtually $190 meg of that in the state.

Shouting Match in Council Chambers

While Wednesday’s voting was essentially a formalness – it was crystallize after Monday’s special committee vote the externalize had to a greater extent than enough votes to toss – at that place noneffervescent remained some stress betwixt Lightfoot and aldermen on the Council regarding the gambling casino project.

Some were overthrow that the Council’s special citizens committee did non catch a chance to go over the Hard John Rock or Rush Street proposals. Others, including a few who voted yes, raised concerns about the expedited physical process to capture to a balloting on the Bally’s agreement.

But all that paled inwards equivalence to the shouting check that occurred betwixt Lightfoot and Alderman Lord George Gordon Byron Sigcho-Lopez. It started when Sigcho-Lopez criticized the operation as benefitting Bally’s more than the urban center and expression the Lightfoot governing body was “more worried nearly hunting expedition contributions” than serving the citizens.

That led Lightfoot, who as city manager presides over council meetings, to power hammer her gavel repeatedly, recount the alderman he was come out of order, and send for him a liar.

“I will not sit hither silently piece you besmirch my reputation and the people that put to work for me from your littleness of the things that you’re trying to do that exhibit this city to liability, sir,” Lightfoot yelled inwards response. “You are come out of order. You tin can state your comments and your views, but you will not shoot down downwards the unity of people who are working just as hard as you are. That is dead unacceptable.”