In early December, officials from Ho-Chunk, the economic arm of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, met with representatives from the Bureau of Indian Affairs regarding the tribe’s proposed casino in Beloit, Wisconsin. The Ho-Chunk officials said they wanted assurance the presidential transition would not negatively impact the casino project.
Wisconsin U.S. Congressman Mark Pocan said BIA staff told Ho-Chunk their casino plan would be presented to Ryan Zinke, president-elect Donald Trump’s choice for Interior Department secretary, but he did not foresee any setbacks. Pocan said federal approval could take from three months to one year after the application is sent back from the BIA regional office, which is working on an environmental impact study for the casino. If the BIA approves the project, Governor Scott Walker would have final approval or denial. “What we don’t want to happen is the project getting hurt by federal bureaucracy,” Pocan said.
The casino project, developed on 73.5 acres, also would include a hotel and conference center. The development could add up to 2,000 jobs to the area, 2015 project documents indicated.
The tribe requested that Beloit city officials ask local state legislators to reaffirm support for the project and help them get Wisconsin’s congressional delegation on board. Beloit City Council President Dave Luebke said, “We wanted to give Ho-Chunk our full support on this, and we are hoping for cooperation from all sides.”
State Reps. Amy Loudenbeck and Mark Spreitzer urged Pocan and U.S. Senators Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin to continue to support the project. “The city, county and Ho-Chunk have worked together in good faith on a strong application for the proposed casino,” Loudenbeck said. Spreitzer added, “We’ve been waiting a very long time to see if this can move forward or not.”
Former Ho-Chunk President Jon Greendeer said in early 2015, because the gaming compact allows the tribe to open one additional Class III facility, the Beloit casino proposal should go through a quick review process.
Under a tentative financial agreement, Ho-Chunk would pay 2 percent of the casino’s net win proceeds to the state, with 30 percent of that allocated to the county. The payments would be in lieu of property taxes since most of the development would be on tribal land.
In January 2015, Walker denied the Menominee Nation’s proposed casino in Kenosha, citing a possible “long term economic hit” to the state’s budget with a potential loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. The plan took more than six years for BIA approval.
