Latest Post | Last 10 Posts | Archives
Previous Post: Last Republican Chicago legislator resigns after 23 years
Next Post: Crosstown open thread
Posted in:
* Sun-Times…
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she tried for the city-owned casino her predecessors favored, but ultimately agreed to a privately owned facility more than triple the size of existing Illinois casinos to get the help Chicago desperately needs to bankroll police and fire pensions.
“It’s not that I didn’t [insist on municipal ownership]. We tried, but it was very clear that was a proposal that wasn’t going to make its way through the General Assembly,” she said. […]
“Chicago is the economic center of the state. But the dynamics built up over many decades [that] Chicago can’t be treated differently or in a special way by members of the General Assembly. … Particularly for people Downstate, they’ve got to go home to their constituents,” Lightfoot said.
“The legislative process is about compromise. We were able to get an important marker down to start the process for a Chicago casino. … People have been talking about a Chicago casino since casino gambling came to this state almost 30 years ago. This is the first time we’ve actually got concrete steps in the right direction to make that hope a reality.”
* WTTW…
Unlike previous proposals, this will not be a city-owned venture (though Chicago is set to get a third of the casino’s adjusted gross receipts, so it’s in the city’s interests for any eventual operator to succeed).
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday that’s at the city’s request, though he backs the decision because he believes a “business-oriented partner” will “make it a more effective endeavor.”
* The Reader’s Deanna Isaacs tried to get to the bottom of this discrepancy…
So I called Lightfoot’s office to ask for an explanation. Deputy communications director Lauren Huffman responded with a written statement that ducked the question but made the point that a casino “will create a new revenue stream and will allow us to shore up underfunded police and fire pensions.” She thought maybe I should ask the bill’s sponsors.
In the Illinois House, that would be 28th District rep Robert Rita. His answer came from spokesman Ryan Keith, who told me Rita himself had proposed a city- or state-owned casino in the past, but, in this instance, “I think they just decided it was cleanest and simplest to do it the way they do all the other casinos”—that is, with private owners.
Who decided? “The negotiators,” Keith said, “representatives from all the different legislative caucuses, the governor’s office. The city obviously was involved.”
Northeastern Illinois University economics professor Michael Wenz, who studies gambling as an economic development strategy, says that, compared to past Illinois casino deals, the city did well. “A third of AGR [adjusted gross revenue] is a good deal,” Wenz told me. “They can do that without having to worry about the costs, without having to worry about anything. And it’ll be wildly profitable.”
Casino revenue has been flat or even down recently, cannibalized by the spread of video gambling, but Wenz says it’s reasonable to expect that a well-located city casino could do three times what Rivers Casino in Des Plaines does in volume. Figures from the Illinois Gaming Board show that Rivers’s AGR in 2018 was $441 million.
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Jun 17, 19 @ 1:45 pm
Sorry, comments are closed at this time.
Previous Post: Last Republican Chicago legislator resigns after 23 years
Next Post: Crosstown open thread
WordPress Mobile Edition available at alexking.org.
powered by WordPress.
Who gets what share of the other 2/3’s?
Comment by Groucho Monday, Jun 17, 19 @ 1:53 pm
It’s much cleaner to let the professionals own it and run it. Just be sure the City gets to audit the books. We all know what happened to Moe Green when Mike thought he was skimming off the top.
Comment by SSL Monday, Jun 17, 19 @ 2:10 pm
Chicago has been setting tourism records of late, so the casino and legal marijuana will be other attractions, as will the Obama Center, when or if it gets built.
Comment by Grandson of Man Monday, Jun 17, 19 @ 2:12 pm
Sometimes a third of a loaf of bread is better than no loaf of bread.
Comment by Da Big Bad Wolf Monday, Jun 17, 19 @ 2:16 pm
The Lucas would have drawn some big numbers also.
Comment by Groucho Monday, Jun 17, 19 @ 2:21 pm
What a thoughtful, grown up, tenable explanation by the Mayor. Nice.
Comment by Dude Monday, Jun 17, 19 @ 2:34 pm
The City will get over $300 million a year from this casino.. “IF” they put it within a 10 minute cab ride from downtown..
Comment by NotRich Monday, Jun 17, 19 @ 2:46 pm
I wonder if Mayor Lightfoot took the Chicago ownership position as a negotiating tactic. Start with a really high demand so you can bargain down to what you actually want. With her experience as federal prosecutor, I think she would see why Chicago ownership of a casino is treacherous at best.
Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Monday, Jun 17, 19 @ 2:52 pm