Illinois State Senator Dave Syverson said local communities could be economically devastated as a result of the Illinois Gaming Board taking so long to process pending casino license applications. The board recently announced it could take another six more months before awarding the licenses. Syverson said, “I’m surprised, and I’m certainly disappointed, that it’s taken a year and now they’re asking for six more months. And they can’t comment as to why it’s taking this long to get two clean applications approved so we can get people working.”
Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the expanded gambling bill one year ago, allowing up to six new casinos statewide. The cities of Rockford and Williamson County submitted applications following negotiating agreements with casino operators. Chicago, the south suburbs, Danville and Waukegan also submitted applications for a total of nine pending applications.
Illinois Gaming Board Director of Policy Joe Miller said there is no “delay” on the part of the board. He said, “The Illinois Gambling Act states that if a licensing determination cannot be made within 12 months from the application submission deadline, then the board must inform the applicants why a determination could not be made and when the board reasonably expects to make a decision. Consistent with the statute, the board gave each applicant a status update on their respective applications and explained when it reasonably expects to conclude the license investigation and make a preliminary suitably determination.”
Miller added, “These are complex entities and the work that goes into processing, vetting and investigating each applicant is exhaustingly detailed and time-intensive. The board will continue to ensure that this process is done in an ethical, independent and transparent manner.”
Gaming Board Administrator Marcus Fruchter stated, “Covid-19 made certain routine IGB activities–such as applicant and key person interviews, site visits, fingerprint analysis and obtaining official tax documents and other records from state, local and federal agencies–difficult and at times impossible. But life and work proceed, albeit under less than ideal circumstances.”
But Syverson isn’t buying those explanations. “We’re trying to get to the bottom of what happened, why didn’t the board get their job done, who should be held accountable and what they can do to get these applications done. For six months we had casinos and video gaming totally closed. What were the 250 employees at the gaming board that were not monitoring the existing casinos and video gaming doing? Those employees could have stepped up in and helped.”
Under the expanded gambling law, tax revenue from the new casinos will go toward Pritzker’s $45 billion capital improvement plan. Roads, bridges, railroads, universities, early childhood centers and state facilities will benefit from the funding for the next six years. Syverson commented, “If there is no revenue, that means all those projects now are all going to be delayed by another six months or longer. It’s going to have a negative impact on projects and jobs across all of Illinois.”
As an example, Syverson cited the city of Rockford which is partnering with Hard Rock to develop a casino. “If Rockford, for example, has to wait another six months, now we’re talking about late spring of ’21. Then, when that’s approved, we’re looking at up to two years for construction to be done. We’re talking about 2023 before there would even be a casino,” he said.
The pressure is especially intense for Rockford since the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs has approved a Ho-Chunk casino just across the Wisconsin border in Beloit. The plan is awaiting final approval from Governor Tony Evers. Syverson noted, “People start feeling comfortable going to a certain casino. They may continue to go in the future. If they’re going to beat us to the punch, that’s a lot of revenue from northern Illinois that’s going to be going up to Beloit.”
Syverson added, “Unfortunately, we can’t get back what we’ve lost now for the last year, but our goal is to see what can we do to shorten this thing up so it doesn’t take six more months and we can get people to work.”
