When a new casino plan for Chicago was unveiled, many were eager to have it see the light. However, legal issues jumped in and messed up the plan, and now the mayor of Chicago is desperate to find a possible solution and release the plan.
Lori Lightfoot, the mayor of Chicago, has some very difficult work to do. The city of Chicago is desperate to add a new source of income, and the original plan was to make it come from the tax revenue from new casinos.
However, there were a couple of problems that arose along the way, which Illinois’ gambling expansion bill faces right now. Apart from some of the legal issues, many analysts simply don’t think that private casino operators would be attracted to investing money in new casinos in Chicago, as it has a very complex tax structure which is described in the bill.
Attempt To Change
Lightfoot’s primary solution was to change the tax systems for the new casinos. She went to the capital of the state — Springfield — and wanted to come up with a better plan for the system. However, according to all reports, it seems that she did not manage to achieve her goals there, returning the plan to the status quo.
After her attempt, Lightfoot held a press conference, where she desperately stated that the city of Chicago urgently needs to get the deal done since bond rating agencies are behind their backs.
Lightfoot said that there was a lot of work to be done and that she and her team had been working every single day to sort things out. However, she added they had managed to make significant progress.
But she stated that progress itself didn’t mean much as it needs to turn into “enough votes to get it passed out.” She concluded that it still remains to be seen and that they were certainly doing their best to find all issues and address them.
The gambling bill proposed by Governor J.B. Pritzker suggests that Chicago’s coffers would be filled with a third of post-payout tax revenues from casinos. However, when that is combined with Chicago’s taxes, as opposed to other places in Illinois, many analysts predict that it is not a pleasant sight for any private gaming operator in the US, as it is simply not profitable enough for them to run a casino in the city.
Because of that, Lightfoot even went as far as to propose that the new casinos should be run by the government.
Therefore, the most logical answer is to propose a new tax structure that would attract private casino operators and still filling Chicago’s coffers with revenue tax. The negotiations for the new structure require, however, a very long and complex procedure, and many advise the mayor to look for revenue incomes elsewhere and give up on the idea of casinos.
Work To Be Done
One thing is certain — there’s a long battle to be fought, and Lightfoot is not planning on giving up on improving Chicago’s overall status. The city has been suffering lately, as it has had money problems for quite some time, and Lightfoot is set to make things right during her term as the mayor of the city.
At this point, not many things are still not clear enough in whether she will succeed in her effort. However, she is trying her best and certainly not giving up on the idea of solving the money issue in the city. But will she give up on casinos? That’s yet to be seen.
