Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has invited each of three downtown casino developer finalists to participate in a community engagement meeting, where citizens can ask questions and make comments. The meetings will take place April 5, April 6 and April 7. In-person seating priority, capped at 300, will be given to residents of regions where casinos are proposed; others may be admitted as space allows. The meetings also will be livestreamed.
Lightfoot’s choices for the top three finalists to develop a downtown Chicago are:
- Bally’s proposed casino at the Chicago Tribune Freedom Center publishing plant along the Chicago River near Halsted and Ohio streets.
- A Hard Rock casino included in the massive One Central development just south of downtown.
- A Rivers Casino within the 62-acre riverfront development, the 78, between the South Loop and Chinatown.
Two proposals for a casino at or near McCormick Place were eliminated from the competition.
The Chicago city council recently voted 35-12 to approve Lightfoot’s plan to create a special committee to review the bid of the mayor’s ultimate choice. The special aldermanic panel will be chaired by Alderman Tom Tunney, who also chairs the Zoning Committee, and vice-chaired by Alderman Jason Ervin, chairman of the Committee on Contracting Oversight and Equity and the City Council Black Caucus. Other members will include all of the city council’s committee chairs and vice chairs, and president pro tem Alderman Brendan Reilly.
After Lightfoot names her final choice, “a comprehensive host community agreement memorializing the agreed upon terms will be prepared,” and the committee will be responsible for reviewing the agreement.
According to the resolution creating the new committee, the committee will have jurisdiction over all matters related to the creation of the casino, including “zoning, land use, building code, real estate, contracting, licensing, permitting, gambling, public health, pedestrian and traffic safety, public safety, security, environmental issues, city services, transportation, public way, financial and budget considerations, tax incentives, special events, and airport matters.”
Some of the mayor’s most vocal critics voiced concern with the creation of the committee and accused Lightfoot and her allies of rushing the vote through city council. Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, referring to Lightfoot’s 2019 campaign slogan, “bringing in the light,” said, “We’ve got to rethink the way that this is being done right now. This is not bringing in the light. This is not transparency. This is not good government.”
Ald. Sophia King and Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, whose wards include two of the proposed sites for the casino finalists, said they should have been included on the special committee. King stated, “I do believe that at least the aldermen who are impacted and the communities around them need to be on this committee. At the very least, it should be aldermen whose wards can be directly impacted. Their constituents need to have a voice.”
Sigcho-Lopez said, “Leaving our constituents without a voice in this committee, I find it problematic and undemocratic.”
Ald. Anthony stated, “I’m taken aback on the fact that we are creating a new committee to provide the same functions that this body does every single day, and I don’t believe that it is the responsibility of this body to be making the decisions that people in the administration should be making. This body votes on recommendations, and I believe that this body has all the committees necessary to provide the same functions that this committee is being created to do. This body is still the checks and balances of this city.”
However, Lightfoot responded, “All members of the council all residents and particularly taxpayers will have the opportunity to take their own measure of the viability of all of these three proposals. Ample opportunity will be given to every single member of the body to participate, kick the tires, if additional briefings are needed.”
Tunney pledged to run the committee “in a fair and democratic way and an expedient way. Some of us have been waiting 30 years for a casino revenue source to help our pensions, and I’m going to tell you something, we have to move forward in an expeditious manner.”
Lightfoot said she won’t announce her choice until this summer, after community hearings are held. Those possibly could be contentious as some residents in or near the three proposed sites have raised alarms. For example, the River North Residents Association has expressed concern about the Bally’s site and an advisory group for the 78 released a poll showing most people living nearby oppose a casino.
Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River, noted Bally’s and Bluhm’s proposals, both located on the river, would cause intensive use that would completely change the character of any river site. She said, “We need to look at a new type of casino, the whole of it has to be rethought. These are some of the largest riverfront parcels, and we want to do it right. And ‘right’ means sustainable. Let’s innovate for nature in Chicago.”
Frisbie said after decades of advocacy, cleanups and habitat restoration, the Chicago River is becoming healthier. Fish, otters and herons are returning the area. “We’re so close to people believing the river is an actual resource, that it’s alive and not dead,” Frisbie said.
She added, “The whole river shouldn’t look like the Riverwalk.” However, if a casino is built on the riverfront, public greenspace should be a priority plus wildlife habitat. Also, Frisbie said, the buildings must meet the highest standards for sustainability. Chicago Deputy Commissioner at the Department of Planning and Development Peter Strazzabosco said all of the casino proposals were required to meet or exceed the city’s sustainability requirements. He added LEED certification is required under Illinois’ gaming statute.
The Illinois Gaming Board, which will have the ultimate approval, also will review Lightfoot’s choice, which could take months for background checks of casino investors.
