Mayor Lori Lightfoot has suggested five sites for a Chicago casino, all on the city’s south and west sides. They are: a parcel near the Harborside golf course at 111th Street and the Bishop Ford Freeway; the former Michael Reese Hospital site at 31st Street and Cottage Grove Avenue; a site near Guaranteed Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox, at Pershing Road and State Street; the former U.S. Steel parcel, known as South Works, between 79th and 91st streets along South Lake Shore Drive; and the west side site, at Roosevelt Road and Kostner Avenue.
During her mayoral campaign, Lightfoot said a casino on the south or west side would boost much-needed economic development there, attracting related restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues and creating new revenue streams for the city.
Lightfoot did not recommend any downtown sites, such as the McCormick Place Lakeside Center and Navy Pier, which had been suggested for the city’s casino. She explained left off downtown sites from the because of opposition from the convention and tourism industries.
Lightfoot noted, “This is not the definitive list. While a Chicago casino has been talked about for more than 30 years, today we are moving forward to ensure the new casino is viable for Chicago and all of its communities. Together we are advancing a shared vision for new revenues that will benefit Chicago’s severely underfunded pension funds, while generating new jobs and economic opportunity for communities across the city.”
The Illinois Gaming Board selected Las Vegas-based Union Gaming Analytics to study the feasibility of each of Lightfoot’s proposed casino locations, which city officials are calling “test sites.” Samir Mayekar, deputy mayor of neighborhood development, said the casino could end up being located on a completely different site. “The focus is on the economics of a potential Chicago casino. This is not a site selection process. We will run a comprehensive site selection process in the future. We are not tipping our hand at all on sites.” Also, because the casino will be privately owned, the operator is expected to have some input on the location.
Mayekar noted four of the five sites to be evaluated are publicly owned; those four are located near expressways or major highways and have been mentioned previously as potential casino sites.
Union Gaming’s report will be due August 12, then the gaming board will have 90 days to recommend any changes to the terms of the license. Following that, the board can start accepting casino license applications. When those are filed, the board will have one year to award a license to a casino owner. City approval also will be required. Mayekar added the city will seek public feedback through town hall meetings and online surveys.
Lightfoot said, “The primary focus of this study is to determine whether or not the financial structure—particularly the taxing element of it — is feasible. Whether or not we can actually put together a casino that can be financed. Because if we can’t, it’s all for naught and we need to start again.”
She added, “If the feasibility study comes back and tells us no matter where you are, you can’t fund and finance this casino because the economics don’t work, then we go again to the General Assembly and work on getting that right first. We have to get the economics right before we talk about specific sites.”
The reactions of aldermen to a casino in their ward ranged from strong support to strong opposition. Alderwoman Sophia King, whose ward includes the former Michael Reese site, said, “Casinos are known to have deleterious impacts on existing communities, especially communities of color. They siphon all of the inviting amenities that sustain vibrant communities. The juxtaposition of a casino in the historic Bronzeville community is appalling and offensive given the deep and storied African American history in Bronzeville. It would be like putting a casino in Harlem.”
Alderwoman Pat Dowell also opposed the suggested Pershing/State site in her ward. She said that location needs a grocery store, not a casino.
Alderwoman Susan Sadlowski-Garza, whose ward includes both the U.S. Steel and Harborside sites, said a casino in Harborside could make it “a recreation destination” and capture “everything that leaves for Hammond,” referring to the Horseshoe Casino across the state line in Indiana. She said that venue “takes in $47 million a month. Seventy-eight percent of the license plates that are parked in that lot are from Illinois.”
Alderman Michael Scott Jr. said, “Something like a casino would, I think, spur the needed development in the 24th Ward in the North Lawndale community that we have long worked for so long. But you have to make sure you’re protecting the interests of the folks that are around you, that there are jobs for people that live in the community. We’re doing everything to make sure that the folks who live in the 24th Ward are able to participate in the economic development that should come from something like a casino.”
Downtown Alderman Brendan Reilly noted, “For it to be successful, it’ll need to be close enough to downtown and convention facilities for there to be enough density and volume and traffic to make it a successful license and a revenue generator for the city. I think it’ll be a delicate balancing act but I think the mayor is right to start the conversation in those areas.” He said he prefers the Michael Reese site because it’s “proximate to downtown and a stone’s throw to McCormick Place.” He added, “It’s certainly a site I’d love to see get off of the city’s hands so that could end up being a win-win. I’ll keep an open mind through the process.”
Far south side Alderman Anthony Beale, who has been promoting a casino location on 103rd Street in his ward, said he doesn’t think any of Lightfoot’s suggested locations will work. “As we go through this process, I think when things flesh out, you’ll see that most of the sites that have been released are sites that are just totally undevelopable as far as a casino is concerned,” Beale said.
Under the new gambling law, before spending one cent on a new casino facility, the chosen Chicago casino operator must pay $30,000 per gaming position, or $120 million, for all 4,000 permitted positions, plus a $15 million “reconciliation fee” and another $250,000 to operate a land-based casino.
