Casino On Block 37?

[NWside]

Casino could find home on Block 37

By ALBY GALLUN
*
Denise CasalinoCity officials are discussing a plan to put a casino in the proposed mixed-used development at Block 37, the long-vacant block in the Loop.

Marking a major shift in the city’s position, Denise M. Casalino, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, said a casino could be included in the $508-million project “if it’s done correctly” and if it lawmakers in Springfield sign off on a Chicago casino.

City officials have been discussing the idea with Mills Corp., the project’s master developer, she said. A casino most likely would be included as part of a 200- to 300-room hotel planned for the northwester corner of the site, which sits just across State Street from Marshall Field’s flagship store.

“We agreed to agree that there might be a casino on the site,” Ms. Casalino said. “This is just one of the sites under consideration.”

Ms. Casalino spoke after the Community Development Commission unanimously approved the sale of the 2.8-acre property to Arlington, Va.-based Mills. The company will pay the city $12.3 million for site, with payments spread out as the project is developed. P> The city also will receive additional payments on top of the $12.3 million as the hotel and residential components of the project are developed, but city officials declined to say how big the payout could be.

Still, $12.3 million is significantly less than the $32.5 million the city agreed to pay to take back the site from its previous owner, a development joint venture led by Chicago-based JMB Realty Corp. Yet Ms. Casalino explained that the discount is really only about $925,000, because the site was recently appraised at $13.2 million based on the city-mandated specifications that will make the project more expensive.

Mills expects to begin construction on the project next spring, with the retail space ready by late 2007. The city estimates the project, when complete, will create more than 2,660 full-time jobs and generate more than $17.5 million in annual property, sales, hotel, income and other taxes.

Mills is “in final negotiations” with WBBM/Channel 2, which would lease about 100,000-square-feet for offices and a street-level studio at the site’s southwest corner, said Mills Executive Vice-president Steven J. Jacobsen. The developer has not signed any other tenants for the development, which could comprise as much as 2 million square feet or more, including the hotel and condo towers.

Mills and city officials have long said that want a strong entertainment component in the project, but they didn’t publicly discuss the idea of a casino until now. Mayor Richard M. Daley is pushing legislators to authorize a 3,000 position gambling casino in their fall veto session shortly after the Nov. 2 election.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich has traditionally opposed the concept of casino gaming in the city but recently has made comments some legislators have interpreted as a sign that willing to change his position.
Chicagobusiness.com
********

Even though i believe casinos are a vice for low income families and minorities, the flow of traffic and pedestrians it will create can't be matched.

[edsg25]

Even though i believe casinos are a vice for low income families and minorities, the flow of traffic and pedestrians it will create can't be matched.

I agree with you about the effect of casinos on low income and minorities. I also think in this case, it may not have much relevancy. Casinos cover the metro area pretty well. The boats on the Indiana shore attract lots of people from Chicago. And the boats on the Fox River do the same. Rosemont will, at some point, have a casino, and you know that it will have easy access to the blue line.

Downtown (be it Block 37, McC Pl, wherever) will be mostly for tourists. More specifically, for conventioneers. The city definitely feels that having casino gambling will be an attraction to conventions in its competition with Vegas. Chicago knows it has an edge over its main convention competition in Orlando and Vegas because it offers a real city with true urban pleasures. But this is a highly competitive industry and Chicago desperately wants to keeps its edge and stay up with Vegas and Orlando.

[Dampyre]

Blagojevich is full of shit. All the poor are already blowing their money out at Indiana casinos. A casino in downtown Chicago would be an excellent idea.

NWside, WTF do you mean casionos are a vice for low income people and minorities? Are you stupid or what? Like the two are interchangable.

Your mind is weak.

[geoff_diamond]

Damp... you have such a delicate way about you. Bah, I'm sure you've been told that your whole life.

At ANY rate... I give the casino idea two thumbs up. The traffic would be great for neighboring businesses, the revenues could *dare I say it?* be used to help fund the CTA if they can get enough of a bail-out to get them to 2007 or 08. That is of course, if that money isn't already earmarked for something else. But, I would think that maintaining public access to the area should be a top priority since the casino would rely on the success of Block 37, which relies on the success of downtown, which relies on the success of the CTA. Got it?

[simulcra]

Damp... you have such a delicate way about you.

Umm... as a minority, I felt slightly shocked by the random "low income and minority" line. wtf was that suppossed to mean?

[mypetrobot]

City loses on Block 37 sale, bets on future
Daley aide says Loop site could include a casino

By Gary Washburn
Tribune staff reporter
Published October 13, 2004

The city has agreed to sell Block 37 at a loss of nearly $23 million to assure development of the long-vacant, but critically important downtown site, officials announced Tuesday.

And, in a surprise revelation, city Planning Commissioner Denise Casalino said that the State Street site could one day be home to a city-run casino, in addition to the shopping center, office high-rise, hotel and residential tower that already have been announced.

The city is willing to take a loss on the property because city planners see it as a keystone block, bounded by State, Randolph, Washington and Dearborn Streets. The city also recognizes that it has imposed conditions on developers that have reduced the land's monetary value, but not its strategic importance.

If Mayor Richard Daley wins state approval for a publicly-owned gaming facility, Block 37 would be among the locations considered for the slot machines and blackjack tables, Casalino said.

If casino legislation is passed, "the city needs to figure out the optimal site," she said. "This would be one of them under evaluation."

Block 37 has good access to Chicago Transit Authority stations.

"It's close to Millennium Park; it's close to State Street; it's near Michigan Avenue," Casalino said. "It's part of the heart of the center of the city."

The city "has agreed to agree" with Mills Corp., Block 37's developer, that "there might be a casino at this site," the commissioner said.

Steve Jacobsen, Mills executive vice president, downplayed the issue, saying that the other components will be the focus of the new development. But, "if the powers that be think [a casino] is important, we certainly will look at it," he said.

Peter Scales, a Planning Department spokesman, said later that "this idea is in its infancy at best" and "not in the cards right now."

McCormick Place site possible

Block 37 is only the second possible location mentioned by Daley administration officials as a potential casino site.

The other is the oldest and easternmost building in the McCormick Place complex.

Whether Springfield grants the authority for a city-owned casino is far from guaranteed, given Gov. Rod Blagojevich's stated opposition. Daley has promised to press his case for something he says is an economic necessity.

City officials say a gaming facility would represent a new source of desperately needed revenue as the city faces a $220 million budget gap for 2005 and projected deficits for several years after.

Daley has offered to share profits with the state.

If the city ultimately wins a casino and if Block 37 is chosen, the facility probably would be part of the hotel portion of the complex, Casalino said.

Block 37 has defied development since the 1980s as a succession of plans have been announced, only to languish and die on the drawing boards.

Jacobsen vowed to reverse that history, citing what he said was a strong corporate balance sheet and a track record of successful developments in the U.S. and abroad. The Virginia-based Mills has 28 multi-use developments worldwide.

Under an agreement that must win City Council approval, City Hall would sell Block 37 to a unit of Mills for $12.3 million, two years after buying the property back for $35.2 million from a real estate team that failed to build.

A variety of development restrictions and requirements imposed by the city since its purchase has reduced the appraised value to $13.2 million, officials said. The $925,000 difference between the value and the proposed sales price represents a city subsidy to Mills.

The price is based on a project with 1.1 million square feet and would be increased based on a complex formula if Mills ultimately were to build more than that amount, officials said.

First phase offers shopping

A first development phase, planned to begin next year, would have an upscale shopping center of about six stories that would cover the majority of the site; an office building at Dearborn and Washington; and a subterranean Chicago Transit Authority station that would provide service to O'Hare International and Midway Airports.

Jacobsen said Mills is in final negotiations with WBBM-Ch. 2 to lease nearly 100,000 square feet in the office building, including space for a TV studio that would look out onto Daley Plaza across Dearborn.

Work that will allow the CTA to connect its Red and Blue rapid transit lines as part of the station development would be financed, in part, by a $42.3 million city economic development grant.

Subsequent construction on the 2.7-acre Block 37 site would include a hotel with 200 to 300 rooms rising from the shopping center structure at the corner of Dearborn and Randolph and a residential tower, also rising from the shopping center, with 200 to 300 units at State and Randolph.

Under the proposed agreement, Mills would reserve 10 percent of the residential units for moderate-income buyers or renters. The company has not yet decided whether to build condominiums or apartments.

Ownership of the land would not pass from the city until Mills shows proof of financing for the first construction phase.

$17.5 million in revenue

The development is expected to yield $17.5 million a year in property, sales, hotel and other taxes when it is completed. That does not include revenue from a casino.

The development is critical to the continued economic development of the Loop, said Ald. Burton Natarus, whose 42nd Ward includes the downtown area.

"This is probably one of the most important projects we have had in the city of Chicago for a long, long time," he said.

"We are extremely excited at the proposal we have before us today," said Peter Skosey, vice president of the Metropolitan Planning Council.

Natarus and Skosey spoke at a meeting of the city's Community Development Commission, where commission members gave their approval to the proposed deal.

The Greater State Street Council, Friends of Downtown, Central Area Committee and Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce also endorsed the development.


my favourite part of the article is this excerpt:

subterranean Chicago Transit Authority station that would provide service to O'Hare International and Midway Airports..... Work that will allow the CTA to connect its Red and Blue rapid transit lines as part of the station development would be financed, in part, by a $42.3 million city economic development grant.


i hope the casino goes there we need it to compete with vegas.

[Dampyre]

Umm... as a minority, I felt slightly shocked by the random "low income and minority" line. wtf was that suppossed to mean?

NWside displays the ignorance that a lot of North Siders do. I swear, Chicago really isn't as socially advanced as it should be. It's sad.

[mypetrobot]

i'm a minority and i'm not offended by it.

[Dampyre]

i'm a minority and i'm not offended by it.

You've been domesticated. Next time just bend over and grab your ankles.

[geoff_diamond]

petro - feel free to ignore Damp... he's our resident hypocritical prick. All he does is talk about how much he can't stand North Siders because their so arrogant, judgemental and close-minded (his words, not mine). Yet, he is the most arrogant person here... he judges everyone's intelligence and beliefs from one sentence and the open/close mechanism on his brain seems to have been defunct for years now. Maybe I'll start assuming that all South Siders are just like him.

[Dampyre]

petro - feel free to ignore Damp... he's our resident hypocritical prick. All he does is talk about how much he can't stand North Siders because their so arrogant, judgemental and close-minded (his words, not mine). Yet, he is the most arrogant person here... he judges everyone's intelligence and beliefs from one sentence and the open/close mechanism on his brain seems to have been defunct for years now. Maybe I'll start assuming that all South Siders are just like him.

It has been my my experience that many North Siders do possess those negative qualities. I'm hardly arrogant but I do call it like I see it.

[mypetrobot]

hah. geoff i'm from the south side as well.

doesn't matter i'm not going to start arguing on a message board. i just ignore them and it does the trick.

[Dampyre]

hah. geoff i'm from the south side as well.

doesn't matter i'm not going to start arguing on a message board. i just ignore them and it does the trick.

Cool, you have no problem being stereotyped. Gotcha.

[bobablob]

I claim in no way to be an expert on compulsive gambling. My interest in psychopathology is superficial at best. That said, I seem to recall seeing multiple studies that uphold the assertion that gambling is infact a greater vice for minorities than for caucasions. As this forum is meant for open-ended discussion and is not a place (to the best of my limited understanding) that requires the posting of certified theses on the subject topics, I offer the following statements (my mind is not so weak and my academic pedigree, if challenged, should serve as adequate proof).


"Doug Dobmeyer of the Task Force to Oppose Casino Gambling in Illinois said that people of color and the poor will be targeted the most by a casino located in Chicago. He said poor minorities will be the most susceptible to gambling's promise of quick and easy money.

Citing a study done in Detroit recently, Dobmeyer said single mothers and African-Americans suffer when casinos come into their areas.

"38 percent of Detroit's single mother households gambled at casinos and African-Americans lost two and a half times more than whites at casinos," Dobmeyer said.

Rev. Oscar Carrasco, Director of Correctional Ministries for the United Methodist Church said the rate of pathological gamblers was higher among ethnic minorities.

"The rate among Caucasians was .5 percent. Among African-Americans it was 3.7 percent, and among Hispanic-Americans, 4.2 percent," Carrasco said.

Carrasco, who read his statement in both English and Spanish, said that he wanted to let the communities most detrimentally affected by gambling know how the casino in Chicago could devastate their communities."


We can further discuss the causal issues or underlying inadequacies in America's integration of society and economy, but to the close-minded individuals who see an assertion of fact and decry it as weak-minded opinion, I can only say that you are the weak-minded and offer little to this forum.

[geoff_diamond]

Ahh! You see bob... you are mistaken. When damp's here, the forums are not intended for open-ended discussion - they're here merely for him to impose his, and only his ideas on the rest of us. Why can't you understand that if he doesn't agree with what you're saying, you are clearly wrong? Your mind must be weak.

[Dampyre]

I claim in no way to be an expert on compulsive gambling. My interest in psychopathology is superficial at best. That said, I seem to recall seeing multiple studies that uphold the assertion that gambling is infact a greater vice for minorities than for caucasions. As this forum is meant for open-ended discussion and is not a place (to the best of my limited understanding) that requires the posting of certified theses on the subject topics, I offer the following statements (my mind is not so weak and my academic pedigree, if challenged, should serve as adequate proof).


"Doug Dobmeyer of the Task Force to Oppose Casino Gambling in Illinois said that people of color and the poor will be targeted the most by a casino located in Chicago. He said poor minorities will be the most susceptible to gambling's promise of quick and easy money.

Citing a study done in Detroit recently, Dobmeyer said single mothers and African-Americans suffer when casinos come into their areas.

"38 percent of Detroit's single mother households gambled at casinos and African-Americans lost two and a half times more than whites at casinos," Dobmeyer said.

Rev. Oscar Carrasco, Director of Correctional Ministries for the United Methodist Church said the rate of pathological gamblers was higher among ethnic minorities.

"The rate among Caucasians was .5 percent. Among African-Americans it was 3.7 percent, and among Hispanic-Americans, 4.2 percent," Carrasco said.

Carrasco, who read his statement in both English and Spanish, said that he wanted to let the communities most detrimentally affected by gambling know how the casino in Chicago could devastate their communities."


We can further discuss the causal issues or underlying inadequacies in America's integration of society and economy, but to the close-minded individuals who see an assertion of fact and decry it as weak-minded opinion, I can only say that you are the weak-minded and offer little to this forum.


Hmmmmm...here's a study on how racist white are and the things they do to opress minorities. I guess we can include all Caucasians on these boards in that esteemed group. :lol:

Read up, sonny!

http://grove.ufl.edu/~feagin/costs1.htm

[NWside]

NWside displays the ignorance that a lot of North Siders do. I swear, Chicago really isn't as socially advanced as it should be. It's sad.
Actually your blind to see that many of the people who throw they're money away in casinos are poor, why be offended by it? Does the truth hurt. And don't give me your bullshit about northsiders, i was born and raised in Humboldt park and now live in Logan Square far from your stereotypical yuppie north side that you perceive.

[Suburbanite]

many of the people who throw they're money away in casinos are poor

Though I completely agree that poor people seem inexorably drawn to casinos, don't you think that being in downtown, the casino would also draw a large amount of gamblers from the rich areas of chicago? I think that a casino on block 37 would probably draw fewer poor people than a casino actually built in a poor neighborhood. At least if it is in the loop, it is less convienient for poor people to get to. In this case I believe the casino would be targeting the high rollers from the gold coast more so than the poor.

[NWside]

Like Dampyre stated before if people go all the way to Indiana to gamble, Chicago is just a closer option. Casinos don't target specific groups, they target anyone who will piss they're money away.

[Dampyre]

Actually your blind to see that many of the people who throw they're money away in casinos are poor, why be offended by it? Does the truth hurt. And don't give me your bullshit about northsiders, i was born and raised in Humboldt park and now live in Logan Square far from your stereotypical yuppie north side that you perceive.

I had a problem with minorities being grouped with the poor as if they are one and the same.

[NWside]

^ Then there was obviously a misunderstanding.

[Dampyre]

^ Then there was obviously a misunderstanding.

Okay, cool, I apologize for my comments directed towards you.

[bobablob]

I fail to understand the link between hard statistics furthered by the very minorities that they represent and calls of caucasian racism. I scanned the article and while structurally sound, many of its arguments are flawed. If you'd like to discuss this further, you can PIM me any time.

And for the record and general consumption of the many readers who know nothing other than that I have only seldomly posted here: I make no argument as regards the basis for the reality that casinos have a documented, deleterious effect on the poor AND on minorities. Although I feel very strongly that the issue is squarely rooted in a flawed socio-economic system, I do not feel that this particular thread is a sound venue for arguments of causation.

[NWside]

Okay, cool, I apologize for my comments directed towards you.
No problem.

[Dampyre]

I fail to understand the link between hard statistics furthered by the very minorities that they represent and calls of caucasian racism. I scanned the article and while structurally sound, many of its arguments are flawed. If you'd like to discuss this further, you can PIM me any time.

And for the record and general consumption of the many readers who know nothing other than that I have only seldomly posted here: I make no argument as regards the basis for the reality that casinos have a documented, deleterious effect on the poor AND on minorities. Although I feel very strongly that the issue is squarely rooted in a flawed socio-economic system, I do not feel that this particular thread is a sound venue for arguments of causation.

You seem to have missed the point. I didn't even read that article. The thing is that you cannot paint a whole group of people with one big brush.

[bobablob]

I think I did misunderstand then. You linked to the article to offer a counterpoint that a study, even one with serious flaws like the article you linked to, can achieve a predesired outcome, regardless of the data studied? I take your point now and I appreciate it. But your conclusion remains flawed. The study you linked to was most certainly subjective, but the data related to obsessive/chronic gambling is objective.

Painting a whole group of people with one big brush can be dangerous and it can be wrong. But to state a conclusion supported by scientifically gathered data is, in my opinion, acceptable, and indeed, useful.

I feel that ignoring facts is far worse than making broad statements, for the latter can only deceive the foolish, but the former is akin to self-delusion.

[geoff_diamond]

You seem to have missed the point. I didn't even read that article. The thing is that you cannot paint a whole group of people with one big brush.

Oh, you mean like North Siders?

[Dampyre]

Oh, you mean like North Siders?

Yep. :D

[Dampyre]

I think I did misunderstand then. You linked to the article to offer a counterpoint that a study, even one with serious flaws like the article you linked to, can achieve a predesired outcome, regardless of the data studied? I take your point now and I appreciate it. But your conclusion remains flawed. The study you linked to was most certainly subjective, but the data related to obsessive/chronic gambling is objective.

Painting a whole group of people with one big brush can be dangerous and it can be wrong. But to state a conclusion supported by scientifically gathered data is, in my opinion, acceptable, and indeed, useful.

I feel that ignoring facts is far worse than making broad statements, for the latter can only deceive the foolish, but the former is akin to self-delusion.

There is plenty of objective data backing up how racist this society is. Nothing subjective about it.

[qwerty1324]

‘Block 37’ O’Hare Express Stop May Get Hotel Builders on Board
By Mark Ruda
Last updated: Thursday, October 14, 2004 08:07pm

CHICAGO-Skepticism from members of the community development commission could be expected this week before they unanimously recommended a $12.3-million sale of “Block 37” to Mills Corp. The $336-million retail and entertainment base of what could ultimately grow to a two-million-sf redevelopment is hardly the first proposal to come and go in more than a decade.


The involvement of well-heeled Arlington, VA-based Mills Corp. is one reason city officials are confident the development, which ultimately promises to generate $17.5 million a year in property and sales tax revenue, will be built pretty much as planned. If there is any gamble to Mills Corp.’s proposal for 108 N. State St., though, it appears to be two towers that could contain multifamily units and hotel rooms.


Mills Corp. is building what it knows best--the 417,000-sf retail and entertainment portion of the development that will be “the podium” for 108 N. State St. Although negotiations are under way with CBS to take 100,000 sf to anchor a 400,000-sf office tower, that project would be built by Lincoln Property Co. Meanwhile, Mills Corp. is in negotiations with developers for the other two towers, says executive vice president of development Steven J. Jacobsen.


Those towers could be 200 to 300 units, and the mixture between residences and hotel rooms will be driven largely by the market, Jacobsen and city officials emphasize. That flexibility improves the odds of the towers being built, suggests Terri Haymaker, deputy commissioner of the department of planning and development. However, some were uneasy about the possibility of that portion of the project failing to materialize.


“The last thing we want is 450,000 sf of retail and an unfinished tower,” Jacobsen says. “This is very important to the company. “


So far, though, Jacobsen says there is “strong interest” from hotel developers, particularly because the base of the entire 108 N. State St. also includes a $172-million Chicago Transit Authority station three stories underground. It will offer express service to O’Hare International Airport, as the CTA’s Red line is connected to the Blue Line, which runs down the middle of the Kennedy Expressway to the airport.


Also overseeing the company’s redevelopment of Piers 27-31 in San Francisco as well as Vaughn Mills in Toronto, the 108 N. State St. assignment is a homecoming for Jacobsen. The architect is a Chicago native, received his degree Downstate at the University of Illinois as well as Downtown at Roosevelt University. “What’s important for me is to come back and do a project like this in the city,” he says.

[simulcra]

Citing a study done in Detroit recently, Dobmeyer said single mothers and African-Americans suffer when casinos come into their areas.

I'm confused... isn't Detroit a vast majority African American??? so clearly african americans would have a grater presence in Detroit casinos than any other racial group?

And maybe the poor are easily explainable towards being drawn to casinos because of the random payout method. The chance (even if mathematically they're just throwing their money way) that they could gain some amount of money far outweighing the initial investment is highly appealing to anyone who's had to skip meals or not go to a doctor because they can't afford it. And random positive reinforcements is the hardest behavioral reinforcement to break.

Anyway, the fact of the matter is, yes, it's true that minorities tend to have lower incomes as a result of historical socioeconomical imbalances (some still continuing), by the vary nature of minorities and immigration, but it still stands that MINORITY DOES NOT EQUATE TO POVERTY. It seems to me that in some people's minds, being a "minority" is a seperate condition with symptoms similar to "poverty", and thus deserves being mentioend in addition to poverty when referring to the same thing. I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU. A socioeconomic condition, regardless of race, is still a socioeconomic condition. Does saying "poverty" somehow bring up an incomplete image consisting only of poor caucasians in front of a slot machine that begs to be completed by adding the word "minority?" For once, I'll have to side with Dampyre on this, because I'm not ordinarily sensitive on the issue, but this is such a vast categorical juxtaposition that people seem to be OK with accepting.

[The Urban Politician]

Check this out:


Pros and cons of Chicago casino debated





(AP) — Groups on both sides of the effort to put a land-based casino in downtown Chicago tried to rally support Thursday, just days before the start of the fall veto session when the issue might be discussed.
Mayor Richard Daley, who has flip-flopped over the years on the idea, now supports a Chicago casino as a way to generate revenue without raising taxes. But he said he's not sure whether he will make a serious push for it during the veto session that starts Monday because it is difficult to get new legislation passed during the short session.


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The chances of any gambling proposals being acted on during the veto session are slim unless Gov. Rod Blagojevich indicates exactly what he would support, said Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan. Blagojevich has said he would veto any bill allowing a Chicago casino, and has said gambling was legalized to help economically troubled communities - not the state's largest city.
But the governor also has said he would consider any proposals that are put forward. A proposal that included four new casinos - including one in Chicago - stalled in the Senate the last legislative session.

Casino proponents and opponents made their cases at news conferences Thursday.

Chicago labor and business organizations plan to lobby lawmakers on behalf of the plan that they said will boost the city's convention and tourism business. They said a city-owned casino operated by a management company could bring the nation's third-largest city as much as $300 million a year in revenue, with the state getting as much as $700 million a year.

"Chicago is a world-class destination with a growing tourism profile, but we can't afford to rest where we are," said Gerald Roper, president and chief executive officer of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. "The city must continue to look forward and plan for the future to enhance our international image."

A specific location for the casino has not been named, but the coalition supporting the plan wants it to be in downtown Chicago so that nearby restaurants, museums and hotels can benefit.

Daley said he wants a casino in the city to bring in revenue he can use to help with education funding, and has talked to Blagojevich about it.

"The taxpayer should get the benefit" of a casino, Daley said.

Opponents of the plan say it would cause social problems such as gambling addiction and crime, and would hurt the city's poor who might spend money at the casino instead of on food or clothing, for example.

"We are raising dollars for our coffers off of the backs of those who can afford it least," said Jane Ramsey, executive director of the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs in Chicago.

Cindy Davidsmeyer, spokeswoman for Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, said Jones supports a Chicago casino and would like to see the issue considered during the veto session.

"We need the revenue," she said. "He also supports a license for the south suburbs in order to stem the tide of sales tax revenue that we're losing to Indiana."

Indiana's casinos send free shuttles to Chicago hotels, a move that supporters of the Chicago casino plan said hurts the city.

[mypetrobot]

Prime site, motivated seller

Published November 5, 2004

When you sell a piece of real estate, some wiggle room is inevitable. Figure 4 or 5 percent reduction in the asking price, some carpeting in the family room, a new roof on the garage and some last-minute finagling before the deal is done.

Now check this: The city recently cut a deal to sell Block 37, right in the middle of Loop--think location, location, location--but knocked 65 percent off the selling price. The city bought back the property from a developer for $35.2 million two years ago and now is selling it to Virginia-based Mills Corp. for $12.3 million.

It's a fire-sale price, but even at that it has the makings of a good deal for the city. The hotel, shopping center and condos planned for the site are expected to create 2,600 jobs and provide nearly $17.5 million a year in tax revenues. If you consider all the direct and indirect income the development will spin--such as wages and spending by hotel customers--the impact on the local economy is estimated to reach about $9 billion over 10 years.

You are forgiven for feeling skeptical. Block 37 has been sitting empty for about 20 years, defying every notion of urban development. There have been plans for hotels, vertical shopping malls, horizontal shopping malls, office buildings, condos, apartments and just about everything else imaginable. All these visions have risen, fluttered briefly and crashed like turkeys.

Why the bargain-basement price? City officials say serious engineering complications add to the cost of construction and reduce the value of the property. A Commonwealth Edison power station sits on one side of the property and must remain there. Building a Chicago Transit Authority station below and the structure above will require agile technologies. Add the costs of environmental cleanup, and the tab keeps going up for the developer.

Also, remember previous "offers," such as one from Macy's department stores, which asked the city to pitch in about $50 million for the project. Aside from the bargain sales price, Mills is not receiving a subsidy from the city.

Consider all those factors, and the Mills plan for Block 37 begins to look like a fair deal. If this plan flies, the city will more than recoup the discounted selling price.

Block 37, bounded by State, Randolph, Washington and Dearborn Streets, will be developed in phases. The first--scheduled to begin next year--will include an upscale shopping center, an office building on the southwest corner and a CTA megastation with trains going to the airports. Later phases will include a hotel and condos.

So far, so good.

A mysterious wrinkle showed up in this deal, though, when Planning Commissioner Denise Casalino suggested that Block 37 might be the home for a Chicago casino. Mayor Richard Daley would like to have one somewhere, to help the city's finances. There's a possibility that the legislature could approve casino legislation as soon as this month. Whatever the city plans, it can't spring this on people and rush a vote through the legislature--a favored way of operating in Illinois.

The newest proposal for Block 37 has a lot of promise. But the city shouldn't gamble with the public's trust. If there's more to this project than we're being told, let's hear it.

[qwerty1324]

November 09, 2004
Jones says guv backs city casino


SPRINGFIELD (AP) — Senate President Emil Jones said Gov. Rod Blagojevich supports a Chicago-owned casino, but aides to the governor insisted he has not yet made up his mind on the issue.
Asked Monday whether Blagojevich has indicated support for a city-owned casino, Jones told the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times, "Yes, yes, he has."


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Blagojevich said in the past that he would veto any bill allowing a Chicago casino, and has said gambling was legalized to help economically troubled communities - not the state's largest city.
But the governor recently said he would consider any proposals that are put forward. A proposal that included four new casinos - including one in Chicago — stalled in the Senate the last legislative session.

Deputy Gov. Bradley Tusk said Monday he did not think Blagojevich would support a major expansion that would be "too big or too heavy."

"We haven't made any decision on any gaming bill whatsoever," Tusk told the Tribune. "We're still weighing our options."

Jones, D-Chicago, said he hopes to have a bill ready this week that would authorize two to three new casinos, including one in Chicago and one in the south suburbs. But some lawmakers were wary of throwing their support behind the bill until they heard that Blagojevich had endorsed it.

"There will be people in both chambers who would be reluctant to act until they know what the governor's position is," Steve Brown, a spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan told the Sun-Times.

Chicago labor and business organizations say a casino will boost the city's convention and tourism business. They said a city-owned casino operated by a management company could bring the nation's third-largest city as much as $300 million a year in revenue, with the state getting as much as $700 million a year.

Opponents of the plan say it would cause social problems such as gambling addiction and crime, and would hurt the city's poor who might spend money at the casino instead of on food or clothing, for example.

[geoff_diamond]

Umm... hasn't he been on record several times saying that he did not support a casino in the City? I'm so confused.

[24gotham]

Seems like he is coming around. Must be that special Daley handshake! :wink2:

[qwerty1324]

Whatever it is it will be 300 million for the city a year.

[wickedestcity]

just wondering what happened to this idea?

[The Urban Politician]

^ It's dead

[Chicago3rd]

As long as Daley is in office and as long as he wants a Casino....a Chicago Casino is not dead.

[nomarandlee]

Maybe TUP meant that the idea of a casino in Block 37 is dead.

Unless Chicago city revenue coffers pile up money out of nowhere I don't think a casino is all that far or a dead on arrival in anyones minds.