After an application is submitted to the board, regulators would conduct background investigations of all the parties involved in the proposal – a standard procedure. Lightfoot has said she would like to have a finalist picked out to recommend to the gaming board sometime in the first quarter of 2022. If a majority of the Chicago City Council gives Lightfoot’s recommendation the green light, it would then head to the Illinois Gaming Board for an up-or-down vote on whether to award a casino license, the Tribune report said. Developers want to build it over train tracks west of Soldier Field, the storied football stadium of the NFL’s Chicago Bears. Hard Rock’s bid, with Landmark Development, includes a gambling emporium located in a massive mixed-use project called One Central. 8 that Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and city officials were in the process of looking at the bids in advance of recommending a firm.
The other two firms are Bally’s and Rush Street Gaming. One of the firms is Hard Rock International – owned by the Seminole Tribe. (Courtesy Gina Morales, HRI)Ĭhicago officials are considering five proposals from three firms that want to operate a casino in the Windy City. This rendering is of the proposed One Central development in Chicago that would include a Hard Rock casino.
