THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | FRIDAY, AUGUST 29, 2008
Casino Preparations
City Officials Working Behind Scenes To Develop Right Plan, Location To Bring In Casino
By TODD WESSELL
Journal & Topics Editor
With the deadline looming to submit formal applications to the Illinois Gaming Board for the right to operate a casino worth hundreds of millions of dollars, Des Plaines city officials are quietly in the process of scheduling one or more meetings to discuss their gaming operation partnership with Chicago real estate billionaire Neil Bluhm.
Some city officials are considering a tentative mid-September date where the issue of submitting a casino application to the Gaming Board will be discussed. The formal application must include information such as the name of the casino owner and operator, how much they are will ing to pay the state for the right to acquire the casino license, how the agreement between the host community and casino owner is structured, and where the casino will be located.
Because the financial benefits are so enormous, a City Council meeting on the casino subject is highly likely. Presumably at that meeting, aldermen will zero-in on previous discussions and agreements with Midwest Gaming, the casino development firm that wants to own a casino in Des Plaines. City leaders and representatives of Midwest Gaming have said they want to operate their casino on the site of the former Xerox office building property on River Road north of Devon Avenue. Midwest has purchased an option to buy that land. Whether that option still exists is unknown.
In recent weeks, however, speculation has circulated that a second local casino site is under consideration. Former Des Plaines alderman Tom Becker, a realtor, has been trying to buy single-family homes on Craig and Patton drives located immediately west of the giant O'Hare Lakes office complex.
As of a few weeks ago, he and a group of fellow investors had bought two homes and were interested in more. Becker had also approached the Des Plaines Park Dist. about purchasing all or part of Eaton Field Park that lies between Craig and Patton drives and abuts the office complex. Shortly after the Journal & Topics Newspapers revealed Becker's interest in Eaton Park, the Aug. 21 closed executive session meeting to discuss the matter was canceled with park Executive Director John Hecker saying the board will discuss the subject in the future only if details about the intended use of the property are first revealed.
The group Becker is part of is named Des Plaines Ventures LLC and was formed in early June. He would not reveal the identities of the others involved when asked by a Journal & Topics reporter.
According to Mike Fries, chief counsel of the Illinois Gaming Board, applications for the right to own and operate the state's 10th riverboat casino must be submitted to authorities by Oct. 14. The deadline was originally Oct. 10, but was changed due to scheduling issues.
While it is not known exactly how many applications will be filed, it could total between five and 10.
Strong interest has been expressed in developing casinos in Des Plaines, Rosemont, Waukegan, Summit and Country Club Hills. Fries said it's permissible that two applications to own casinos in the same community be filed. There has been some speculation that in Des Plaines, separate casino developers to operate gaming operations at two different sites could submit applications. The Gaming Board, however, will only choose one owner for one site.
With the Oct. 14 deadline approaching, there's no doubt that casino developers and the communities they are working with are scurrying to prepare their application materials.
Fries explained that once the Gaming Board has reviewed all of the applications, a list of three finalists will be established. The applications must include the proposed locations and provide evidence that the city councils and/or village boards have agreed to the locations and support what is being proposed. Also included in the proposals will be information about the sharing of revenue with certain regional communities---a fact both Rosemont and Des Plaines have said they want to do.
At some point after the three finalists are named, they will be required to make public presentations to the Gaming Board, followed by a public hearing where citizens will be encouraged to present their opinions and input.
"We will do the background checks," said Fries. He said the naming of a winner is expected by the end of the year. If it's discovered later that the winner is not suitable because of any number of questionable reasons, another owner/developer will be picked.
Approximately five years ago, the Gaming Board went through a similar process and narrowed its lists of applicants to three. Those three were: Harrahs in Waukegan; Midwest Gaming in Des Plaines; and Isle of Capri in Rosemont. In 2004, the Gaming Board selected the Isle of Capris' Rosemont proposal which overrode its own staff's recommendation for Midwest Gaming's Des Plaines plan.
That decision sparked questions from Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan who at the time said she has "grave concerns" about several related matters. That led to a halt in the process. The Isle of Capri's bid for a casino in Rosemont was $518 million with Midwest's bid for a Des Plaines operation amounting to approximately $460 million.
Many telephone calls over the last several months by the Journal & Topics Newspapers to Neil Bluhm or his spokesperson seeking comment were not returned.