The deadline for RFQ submissions is May 9. A contract would not be awarded at the end of the process, but rather the city would subsequently release a request for proposals, or RFP, based on the feedback it receives from potential bidders. If the city moves forward, the initial consulting contract award would be for two years, with a potential one-year extension.
The city wants the consultant to “evaluate the city’s existing gaming landscape including an analysis of market size, market trends, competitive landscape and threats to the market,” according to the RFQ.
The evaluation would include the “potential impact of future gaming expansion” on the city’s budget and “assess the impact of legalization of video gaming terminals, iGaming, or any other form of gaming that may arise in the city.”
Johnson’s two predecessors were worried video gaming in the city would either lessen the desire of potential casino operators to come to Chicago or cannibalize the revenue a casino would bring in, which would eat into the tax revenue the city receives from a casino.
Approved by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Bally’s began taking bets at its temporary casino at Medinah Temple last fall and is set to take over the Chicago Tribune Freedom Center in River West in July to begin the buildout of a permanent casino.
Johnson, like his then-opponent Paul Vallas, supported legalizing video gambling when campaigning, telling WBEZ in a statement he was “a supporter of legalized video gambling as an important revenue source for critical investments in public safety, transportation, housing and other public accommodations.”
The mayor’s office told Crain’s the RFQ was simply a “fact-finding” mission and the process was “not related to Bally’s.”
Ald. William Hall, 6th, who serves as chair of the City Council’s Sub-Committee on Revenue, told Crain’s that Johnson “inherited . . . some numbers and some figures” from a previous study done under Lightfoot, but “similar to bread on the counter, it expires.”
“Fact finding is not a final decision,” Hall said.
Hall argued the two- to three-year study process was not all that long to wait compared to the lasting impact a new revenue stream would have on the city.
Adding new gambling opportunities could impact the amount of money spent at the future permanent Bally’s casino along the Chicago River.
Hall argued adding video gaming could increase revenue to the city without impacting Bally’s.
“The people who would go to the local bar to have a little video gaming fun are not the same people that would go to a casino because they don’t like the casino atmospheres,” he said.
Some bars and gas stations in Chicago have offered sweepstakes machines to their customers. The machines are criticized for mimicking video gaming but sidestepping the law by offering payouts in the form of coupons for online purchases rather than cash.
Hall said those machines are “crippling communities” because they take income without providing tax revenue to invest in neighborhoods. The city should “crack down on those who are already trying to get ahead illegally," he said, calling it "our moral responsibility as a city.”
The city’s formal exploration of legalizing video gaming comes as state Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, introduced a bill at the state level that would create a task force to study phasing out sweepstakes machines while allowing the owners of the machines to move into legal video gaming terminals, according to the Tribune.
While Chicago has banned video gaming since it became legal statewide in 2012, other municipalities have welcomed it. State and local governments collected $960 million in tax revenue in 2023, according to the report.
by BRIAN NADIG As a child nearly 30 years ago Ryan Glowacz was warned by his older brother that Taft High School was the last place he should ever attend. Today Glowacz was named...
The post Ryan Glowacz enrolled at Taft HS 22 years ago; now he’s been named its next principal appeared first on Nadig Newspapers - Northwest Side Local Newspapers.
Steve Launius retired from the Washington County Farm Bureau Board in January after 38 years of service. He was presented with a quartz clock in honor of his retirement at the Washington County Farm Bureau’s annual meeting in January. He was the Washington County Farm Bureau director for Covington Township. He served as the vice president of the board and also served as secretary.
“It’s quite an honor (to receive the clock). I’m appreciative of it. 38 years is a long time,” he said. “When there’s a retiring director, sometimes they give something to you.”
Launius was the chairman of the committee that started the scholarship program for the Washington County Farm Bureau. He was the first foundation chairman.
“If you look at all the students that have gotten scholarships through the Farm Bureau, we started that. That’s probably the most memorable thing. The other thing would be community impact grants that we do where people write grants and put it together and we give money out in the community to help the community,” he said.
CENTRAL ILLINOIS (WCIA) -- People who drive on Interstate 74 between Champaign and the border with Indiana will now drive on the Senator Scott M. Bennett Memorial Highway.
The 50-mile stretch of highway in Champaign and Vermilion Counties was formally dedicated in the late senator's honor on Thursday. Paul Faraci, Bennett's successor in the Illinois State Senate, unveiled the sign that now marks I-74 in Bennett's honor.
People who knew Bennett said he traveled on I-74 frequently. They said it was a trip that showed his dedication to the wide and diverse district he represented.
"They were like trying to decide where they would do it," said Bennett's wife Stacy. "There was no other option really, because he did this drive so much and just truly loved it."
Stacy said the late senator would've wanted people to smile when they see the new signs.
"I want everyone to celebrate him and not memorialize him," she said. "Because that's not who he was. He would not want people to be sad."
Friends, family and politicians showed up to the dedication in Oakwood, proof of Bennett's ability to bridge philosophical gaps.
"He cared about that portion of the district. That was very important to me," said Mike Marron, former state representative and current CEO of Vermilion Advantage. "That's my home, even though it wasn't probably the easiest part of the district for him to represent."
Marron said Bennett didn't have to travel to Danville to visit constituents as often as he did. He even made inroads with some in the non-voting population.
Danville High School student Isaiah Easton said before he met the senator, he was a little intimidated. But he pulled a U-turn after meeting Bennett.
"He inspired us to get into the community and do that community work, because that's really that's what like his biggest passion that I saw as a student," Easton said.
The 50-mile stretch of highway connecting so many people might just be the perfect memorial for a man who tried his best to do the same.
"He just wanted to listen and was there to listen and try to bring people together," Stacy said. "And oftentimes that would mean everyone was mad at him because he was compromising. But that's what he felt was the best way to represent."
The State Senate passed Senate Joint Resolution 32 designating that the highway in Bennett's honor. Drivers going east can see one of the signs near route 45 in Urbana. The other is by the Indiana state line for drivers going west.
image/png Scott-Bennett-Highway-Sign.png?w=900The teachers from Hinsdale South and Hinsdale Central high schools said the community, the students and the staff deserve better.
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