Three firms want to build a casino and resort in Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office announced Friday. All five proposals are of a “high-caliber,” Lightfoot said in a statement released by the mayor’s office.
Chicago Casino
This should have been the week when the long-awaited Chicago casino project finally got up and running. Monday was the initial deadline to submit proposals to develop the much vaunted project — but after few bidders appeared interested — the city pushed back the deadline to the end of October.
The process to get a Chicago casino is taking longer than originally anticipated. Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Friday the city would extend the deadline for interested parties to submit proposals to build and operate the casino.
A permanent casino could open as soon as 2025 in Chicago, although slot machines could start ringing at O’Hare and Midway airports much sooner — with tentative plans for a temporary gaming palace also in play.
Eleven firms are interested in building or operating a casino in Chicago — and eight told Mayor Lori Lightfoot that it should be downtown, according to a limited summary of the proposals submitted by firms released by the mayor’s office.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot took the first step Thursday toward making the long-planned Chicago casino a reality, asking firms interested in building and operating “a unique entertainment and gaming experience” to make their pitch to city officials.
Illinois legislators wrapped up a whirlwind special session that stretched to the wee hours of Sunday morning. A look at what they accomplished.
Before this week’s whirlwind four-day emergency session of the General Assembly, Mayor Lori Lightfoot rolled snake eyes twice in her bid to shape the rules for a Chicago casino. What her victory means for the city.
Illinois casinos may be closed due to the coronavirus, but Chicago hit the jackpot as both chambers of the General Assembly narrowly gave approval to redo the tax structure for the planned Chicago casino.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has an extra day to make a play for tax changes that would allow a city-owned casino to finally get underway as Illinois legislators extend their special session into a fourth day.
A one-on-one with Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who spent part of the week in Springfield lobbying lawmakers to approve a bill that would ease some of the casino taxes and fees. We discuss that and more with the mayor.
Even as cities like Rockford and Waukegan move forward with their fresh authority to host casinos, Chicago is at a standstill.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot failed to beat the odds in Springfield, with legislators on Thursday adjourning for the year without taking up a fix she says is needed before the city can move forward with a casino.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot isn’t folding her cards just yet on a new casino tax structure, though a deal proved elusive Wednesday. That leaves just one remaining day in the veto session for a framework to be finalized and get through both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly.
It’s back to the drawing board for a Chicago casino. Two longtime Chicago politicians decide to hang it up. President Trump is still considering clemency for former Gov. Blagojevich. And the Cubs nose-dive on the road.
After a Las Vegas consultant says proposed sites for a Chicago casino aren’t financially viable, will state lawmakers change their bets?
