Chicago casino race to move "expeditiously"; mayor to provide final list by H1 2022

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said last Friday she expects to make recommendations to Illinois state regulators for a Chicago casino early next year. Lightfoot said the city is interested in moving the process along “as expeditiously as possible.”

“I would like to get a final list to recommend to the Illinois Gaming Board some time in the first quarter of next year,” the Mayor said, according to Chicago Sun Times. She further stated she is “very excited” by the “well thought out” bids the city received last week for the proposed venue.

The timetable, which has been described as “aggressive” by local media, seeks to move forward on the downtown casino development as soon as possible, as police and fire pension funds hover close to insolvency and mounting police retirements put more pressure on the police pension fund.

“We’re very, very interested in moving this process along as expeditiously as possible because, as you know, the revenue from that casino will fund our police and fire pensions and no time like the present for that,” the Mayor stated on Friday.

Chicago has received five bids from four development groups. Lightfoot refused to discuss specific sites recommended by all parties involved, which include McCormick Place Lakeside Center; truck marshaling yards adjacent to McCormick Place; “The 78”, a vacant South Loop site; and the Chicago Tribune’s Near North Side publishing plant.

“I won’t (comment on specific sites) until we make a final decision,” said Lightfoot, according to the previously cited news source. The Mayor, however, said she considered all the proposals “very interesting” and “very robust.” Lightfoot’s team is currently analyzing them, with the expectation to bring the various respondents in and “let them do presentations.”

Proposals have been presented by Bally’s Corporation, which has submitted two separate projects; by Hard Rock International; and two separate groups with developments spearheaded by Rush Street Gaming.

Rush Street Gaming has proved its commitment to the Chicago proposal last month by pulling out of the casino race for a venue in Waukegan. The two development groups the company is spearheading point to where the venue would be located: Rivers Chicago at McCormick LLC, and Rivers 78 Gaming LLC. The company would prove a natural choice, considering its success running Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, a popular state gambling venue. 

Hard Rock’s bid, under HR Chicago LCC, came nine months after the Florida-based gaming giant was greenlighted by state officials to break ground on another casino in Rockford. Meanwhile, Bally’s two proposals call for $1.6 billion investments including a luxury hotel, indoor and outdoor entertainment centers, green space, and fine dining.