Officials of the city of Beloit, Wisconsin and the Ho-Chunk Nation recently announced a $405.5 million project on the Wisconsin-Illinois state line that would include a casino, a 300-room hotel, a 40,000 square foot water park, retail, dining and a convention center. Beloit City Manager Lori Luther said the project, under development since 2012, would create more than 4,000 jobs, with 1,500 at the casino. “This is a potential game-changer for our local community and the impact is dramatic,” Luther said. But Illinois state Senator Dave Syverson stated while the Ho-Chunk casino would be a boon for Beloit, it would “devastate” Rockford.
Luther stated the project would attract Chicagoland residents, including those in Rockford and South Beloit, who are traveling to or through Beloit. She added she expects the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs to approve the project by the end of next year. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker also could approve the casino in 2019, followed by groundbreaking in 2020. Upon opening in 2021, the Beloit casino would be Ho-Chunk’s largest facility.
Ho-Chunk Nation President Wilfrid Cleveland said, “It looks very promising that progress is going to be made in moving forward. The Trump administration seems a lot more aggressive in wanting to get things done.”
Syverson said the Ho-Chunk project “would shut Magic Waters down. They would have Tier 1 concerts. That would wipe out the Coronado and BMO Harris Bank Center.” He cautioned the Ho-Chunk casino could face hurdles gaining state and federal approvals.
Syverson said in 2016 gamblers spent an estimated $1.5 billion at casinos on the state’s border. He noted Rockford was included in Senate Bill 7 last year as part of the state’s “Grand Bargain” budget deal. But a Rockford casino wasn’t mentioned in July when legislators passed the state’s first balanced budget in two years. Most recently a local investment group has proposed tearing down the Clock Tower Resort and building a casino facing the East State Street I-90 entrance.
Senate Bill 7 passed the Senate 33-24 in May but has been held up in the House. Besides authorizing six casinos in Rockford, Chicago, Danville, Lake County, Williamson County and southern Chicago suburbs, the bill would allow existing Illinois casinos to add more gambling spots, increase betting limits and payouts for video gaming terminals and allow Chicago airports to install slot machines. Other provisions would benefit the horseracing industry.
However, legislation allowing additional Illinois casinos has its opponents. Among them is Tom Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association, who said the state’s gaming market is saturated because of the emergence of video terminals. Swoik pointed out since video gambling became legal, admissions in the existing casinos have decreased by 3 million per year.
