Three of the five bids received by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration for a casino focus on McCormick Place: its North Hall, truck marshaling yards and Lakeside Center, the oldest and least-used campus building. Each proposal would impact the city’s convention business which, according to a pre-pandemic study prepared by the University of Illinois Chicago for McCormick Place, accounted for $1.9 billion in annual economic impact and provided more than 14,000 jobs.
Larita Clark, chief executive officer at the agency that operates McCormick Place, said a customer survey indicated exhibitors and show managers were neutral to supportive of a casino near McCormick Place but doubtful to highly critical of an on-site casino that could lure customers away. Clark added McCormick Place would have to replace any lost capacity, specifically a new $1 billion structure that could take six years to complete.
She noted even the less-used Lakeside Center expects 253 events through 2035. “The reality is if we lost Lakeside Center, we’d need to replace 600,000 square feet and all the critical infrastructure serving McCormick Place,” Clark said. She added a legal principle called public trust doctrine, dating from a 19th century lawsuit over the Illinois Central Railroad’s use of lakefront property, could ban using Lakeside Center by a private venture; litigation could tie up a casino proposal there for years.
Observers said the plan from Neil Bluhm, president and chief executive officer at Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming, in partnership with Related Midwest, seems the best location. The site comprises 62 vacant acres at Roosevelt Road and Clark Street. Bluhm also submitted a separate bid for Lakeside Center.
