CITY CASINO SHOULD BE PART OF LARGER COMPLEX, MAYOR SAYS

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Tuesday she envisions a Chicago casino as a piece of a much larger entertainment complex but shed no new light on where it would go or when it would happen.

“I see this as a large entertainment district — not just the box of a casino. In order for us to maximize this once-in-a-generation opportunity that the General Assembly has given us and to maximize the opportunity for revenue, for jobs, for long-term economic viability of the city and, of course, to address our pension debt, we’ve got to be thoughtful and intentional about what we’re designing so it’s something that attracts people from all over the world,” Lightfoot said.

“That’s what I see. Chicago is a global city. We need a world-class entertainment district, of which a casino is a part, but not the entirety. So there’s a lot of work that needs to be done between now and then, and we’re anxious to get started.”

Before adjourning its extraordinary pandemic session, the Illinois General Assembly authorized the tax-and-fee fix desperately needed to make a Chicago casino economically viable and attractive to a developer.

On Tuesday, the mayor was asked what’s next for the elusive Chicago casino at a time when casinos across Illinois remain closed and may not be attracting their normal crowds until there is a vaccine for the coronavirus.

Where might it go? How soon could it be up and running?

“I’m never gonna talk about ‘where.’ I’ve been very clear about that. I’m not gonna speculate about that and I’m not gonna fuel the speculation,” the mayor said.

Lightfoot said the next step is for Pritzker, who needs the Chicago casino almost as much as the mayor does, to sign the bill.

After that, City Hall will start looking at results of “focus groups, studies and surveys” on where Chicagoans want the casino to go and what amenities they’d like to see there.