The South Bend, Indiana Common Council recently voted 8-0 to support the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians’ proposed 0 million casino and tribal village in exchange for 2 percent of the casino’s gambling profits for 99 years, plus a donation from the tribe of million for community projects. The city also agreed to oppose any efforts to expand gambling in South Bend beyond what is currently allowed under state law and to not encourage or support any other casino projects in the city.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg said, “When the idea of tribal gaming in South Bend first became a possibility, I indicated the city could be supportive of it only if the benefits outweighed the cost, and this agreement is a way to make sure that’s the case.”
Despite the unanimous vote, not everyone in attendance at the council meeting approved the casino project. Jake Teshka, a spokesman for the anti-casino group Citizens for a Better Michiana, said casinos have a negative impact on property values, discourage nearby investment, impact local businesses and lead to crime and bankruptcy. “A lot of what we heard here tonight is it’s coming anyway, and we just want to get our cut. That’s the same thing as saying heroin dealers are all over the city and we’re never going to be able to stop it, so why don’t we just take our cut from it,” Teshka said.
In response, Common Council Vice President Oliver Davis said, “I think some people have some concerns with gambling in itself. I understand that, but there are more benefits that outweigh the situations. Some will talk about the benefit of crime that gambling creates. The nicest thing about what we have done in the past is that the Pokagon’s have already talked about putting together their own police station and we already have our county police and our city police that are already going to handle any of those kinds of situations.”
The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs is reviewing an Environmental Impact Study as part of the tribe’s trust land application. The tribe is based in Dowagiac, 25 miles north of South Bend; the 166 acres where the casino would be built is within the city limits but it’s federal trust land. As a result, once it’s approved by the BIA, the tribe can build the casino with or without city approval.
