Chicago Casino Finalists Announced - What Does That Mean for Our Community?
At yesterday's City Council meeting, Mayor Lori Lightfoot introduced a resolution to create a special City Council Committee to oversee the selection of a Chicago casino. As Chairman of the Committee on the Budget and Government Operation, I was chosen to be a part of that committee. More important than my chairmanship is my role representing the community as Alderman of the 3rd Ward, where
one casino is proposed as part of the ONE Central development, and another is located
directly across the street in the 25th Ward as part of "The 78", which would have a significant impact on the lives of 3rd Ward residents. The third finalist is located at the current
Tribune Publishing plant on the near west side.
Let me stress this point. No decisions have been made by me or the special city council committee regarding which casino proposal may be selected. I personally have made NO decisions on ANY of the finalists. Currently, I am gathering input from residents to hear their thoughts on the three proposals and how each proposal would affect our community.
A casino in Chicago is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to add a world-class cultural and tourism amenity to Chicago, while creating a new revenue stream for the City to pay down its pension debt without further burdening Chicago taxpayers. However, a casino is not a panacea, and is not right for every community. That is why the careful evaluation and selection of a casino operator and its location is so very important.
The 3rd Ward community has undergone many incredible large-scale developments, including the creation of Wintrust Arena, NEMA, the Rosenwald Courts Apartments, Mariano's, XS Tennis Village, the Cermak and Garfield Green Line stations, numerous hotels, and many others. Throughout all of these changes, I have made it a priority, and followed through on my promise, to bring these possibilities to the community BEFORE any action is taken, and to represent the community's wishes and best interests to the best of my ability. The potential Chicago casino will be no different.
I encourage you to be a part of this process and to make your voice heard. The first round of community outreach meetings have been scheduled. Dates, times and registration information is as follows:
April 5:
Hard Rock Chicago (at ONE Central)
Harold Washington Library (400 S. State Street)
6-8pm
April 6:
Bally's Tribune (at the Tribune Publishing Plant)
Tribune Publishing Plant (700 W Chicago Ave)
6-8pm
April 7:
Rivers 78 (at "The 78")
UIC Isadore and Sadie Dorin Forum (725 W. Forum)
6-8pm
Please email any questions to chicagocasino@cityofchicago.org. ASL interpretation and live stream caption will be provided. Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin and other language interpretation available upon request. Please indicate accessibility and language needs at chicagocasino@cityofchicago.org by April 1. Additional casino information is provided here and will be updated by the City whenever new developments in the process occur.
As additional community outreach events, or other interactions with residents are scheduled, I will be sure to share them with you ASAP. If you have any questions or initial thoughts about the casino, I encourage you to email
chicagocasino@cityofchicago.org and Cc my office at
Ward03@cityofchicago.org. Thank you and I look forward to working with you for the best outcome for our ward and for the City as a whole.
