City Council votes to create special committee to oversee approval process for future Chicago casino
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A day after Mayor Lori Lightfoot narrowed down the list of potential Chicago casino locations from five choices to three, the City Council on Wednesday signed off on her plan to form a special committee that will be tasked with reviewing the bid that will be submitted by whichever site she ultimately chooses.
The 35-12 vote by the Council will create a special aldermanic panel to be chaired by Ald. Tom Tunney (44th), who also chairs the Zoning Committee, and vice chaired by Ald. Jason Ervin (28th), who also chairs the Committee on Contracting Oversight and Equity, as well as the City Council Black Caucus.
The special committee's remaining members will include all of the City Council's committee chairs and vice chairs, as well as president pro tem Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd).
One Lightfoot decides upon a single finalist for the future Chicago casino, "a comprehensive host community agreement memorializing the agreed upon terms will be prepared," and the committee will be responsible for reviewing the agreement.
The committee will have jurisdiction over all matters related to the creation of the casino, including "zoning, land use, building code, real estate, contracting, licensing, permitting, gambling, public health, pedestrian and traffic safety, public safety, security, environmental issues. City services, transportation, public way, financial and budget considerations, tax incentives, special events, and airport matters."
The mayor's push for immediate approval of the special committee on Wednesday met with angry pushback from some of her most frequent and vocal critics on the City Council, who accused Lightfoot and her allies of rushing the vote through City Council.
"We've got to rethink the way that this is being done right now. This is not bringing in the light. This is not transparency. This is not good government," said Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, referring to Lightfoot's 2019 campaign slogan, "bringing in the light."
Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) noted a copy of the resolution creating the new committee had yet to be posted on the City Clerk's website at the time of the vote, and was emailed to aldermen around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, less than 15 hours before the start of Wednesday's council meeting.
"That is why there's such an uproar over what we're doing," he said.
Lopez compared the vote aldermen were being asked to take to the infamous 2009 vote by the City Council to approve the privatization of the city's parking meters, calling the vote to create a special new committee to oversee the casino deal "parking meters 2.0 in the form of a casino."
Ald. Sophia King (4th) and Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th), whose wards include two of the proposed sites for the casino finalists, said they should have been included on the special committee to make sure their constituents have a voice in the process.
"I do believe that at least the aldermen who are impacted and the communities around them need to be on this committee," King said. "At the very least, it should be aldermen whose wards can be directly impacted. Their constituents need to have a voice."
Sigcho-Lopez said, while approving the Chicago casino project is a citywide issue, it will also have a direct impact on whatever ward ultimately becomes home to the casino, and those wards need to have a voice in reviewing the deal before a City Council vote.
"Leaving our constituents without a voice in this committee, I find it problematic and undemocratic," he said.
However, Lightfoot said every aldermen will have the opportunity for input at the special committee's meetings, just as they do at annual budget hearings, even though not every alderman is a member of the Budget Committee.
"All members of the body, all residents, and particularly taxpayers will have the opportunity to take their own measure of the viability of all of these three proposals," she said. "Ample opportunity will be given to every single member of the body to participate, kick the tires, if additional briefings are needed."
And Tunney pledged to run the committee "in a fair and democratic way and an expedient way."
"Some of us have been waiting 30 years for a casino revenue source to help our pensions, and I'm going to tell you something, we have to move forward in an expeditious manner," he said.
Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) argued a special committee for the casino project shouldn't be necessary in the first place.
"I'm taken aback on the fact that we are creating a new committee to provide the same functions that this body does every single day, and I don't believe that it is the responsibility of this body to be making the decisions that people in the administration should be making. This body votes on recommendations, and I believe that this body has all the committees necessary to provide the same functions that this committee is being created to do," he said. "This body is still the checks and balances of this city."
In addition to Beale, King, Lopez, and Sigcho-Lopez, the aldermen who voted against the creation of the special committee were Jeanette Taylor (20th), Michael Rodriguez (22nd), Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd), Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th), Andre Vasquez (40th), Matt Martin (47th), and Maria Hadden (49th).
Lightfoot's office on Tuesday announced three finalists have made the shortlist for the Chicago casino:
- A Bally's casino plan at the site of the Chicago Tribune Freedom Center publishing plant along the Chicago River near Halsted and Ohio streets.
- A Hard Rock casino plan as part of the massive One Central development just south of downtown, which is itself still just a concept that has yet to receive city or state approval as it seeks $6.5 billion in state financing.
- A Rivers Casino plan within the 62-acre riverfront megadevelopment known as The 78, located between the South Loop and Chinatown.
Two proposals for a casino at or near McCormick Place have been eliminated from contention.
Before the mayor chooses a final bid to send to the City Council for consideration, each of the three finalists and the city will participate in a community engagement meeting in which the public can ask questions and issue comments. The meetings will take place from April 5 through April 7 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will be live-streamed. In-person priority will be given to those who live in the ZIP codes where each proposed casino will be built, with additional space on a first-come, first-serve basis with a capacity cap at 300.
The meetings will be held at the following times and locations:
Tuesday, April 5: Hard Rock
Harold Washington Library, 400 S. State St.
Wednesday, April 6: Bally's Tribune
Tribune Publishing Plant, 700 W. Chicago Ave.
Thursday, April 7: Rivers 78
Isadore and Sadie Dorin Forum, University of Illinois at Chicago, 725 W. Roosevelt Rd.
After the meetings, the city will continue discussions with the shortlisted teams, and a winner will be selected.