Business & Tech
Developers Submit Waukegan Casino Project Proposals
A Wisconsin tribal casino is one of the interested parties hoping to develop Lake County's newly authorized gambling business.
WAUKEGAN, IL — As Waukegan works out who will build the casino authorized by law last month, city officials plan to narrow down a list of interested developers over the next three weeks before holding a public hearing next month and submitting a list of finalists to state gaming officials in October. Six potential developers submitted proposals by Monday's deadline, the Lake County News-Sun reported, but city staff have not identified the applicants.
One of the interested parties, Potawatomi Hotel and Casino in Milwaukee, announced it submitted a development proposal. In a statement, company representatives pointed out Waukegan's name comes from the Potawatomi word for "trading post," and the city is located within the tribe's historic treaty lands.
"Having successfully operated in this gaming market for several decades, Potawatomi Hotel & Casino is a natural fit to develop this project and create the entertainment destination that Waukegan is seeking," said Rodney Ferguson, the casino's CEO and general manager.
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A joint venture called Lakeside Casino LLC from Las Vegas-based casino developer Warner Gaming and local video gambling terminal operator Tap Room Gaming has submitted another one of the proposals, the News-Sun reported.
The CEO of Tap Room is former state senator Michael Bond, a Grayslake Democrat who funded a pro-gambling political action committee that backed several winning aldermanic candidates in April's election. Bond told the News-Sun he expected the city's process to be "fair, open and transparent" and that his team's proposal had the "winning formula."
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Waukegan is specifically designated as the site of one of the half-dozen new casinos authorized by the gambling expansion sponsored by local state senator Terry Link, an Indian Hills Democrat.
A vacant 32-acre Fountain Square site purchased by the city for nearly $7 million more than 15 years ago has been identified as a possible location for the casino, according to the city's request for proposals.
City staff have declined to specify the appraised value of the land — though it was reportedly worth only $5.5 million as of 2013, taxpayers owed close to $13 million on it as of last year.
Whichever developer is selected, a new Waukegan casino may not start at its permanent location. City officials aim to start collecting revenue as soon as possible.
"We expect there to be a temporary casino," wrote city staff in a July 26 update to its request for qualifications and proposals, insisting it be within Waukegan city limits. "While it seems logical and smart marketing to put it near the ultimate casino site, [city officials are] willing to entertain concepts that may suggest differently."
The city is also engaged in a legal dispute with Waukegan Gaming LLC over whether it must still abide by the terms of a 2004 redevelopment agreement that granted an "exclusive right" to build and run a casino in town. Shortly after Illinois approved its gambling expansion bill in June, city representatives asked a judge to declare the old development deal invalid. An initial case management conference in the case is set for Sept. 12.
City officials will review the list of candidates and narrow it down around Aug. 26 before conducting interviews with a group of candidates starting right after Labor Day. A public hearing will be scheduled for September, and a list of finalists will be sent to the Illinois Gaming Board by Oct. 25, within the 120-day window laid out in the gambling expansion bill.
Read more from the Lake County News-Sun
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