Special Issue: How Will That Downtown Casino Benefit Black and Latinx Chicagoans?

A side-by-side comparison of what we know so far—a companion to our latest Newswire newsletter

By India Daniels

Chicago is steps closer to having its first casino, which will bring slot machines and table games, restaurants, retail and entertainment to a near-downtown location. Supporters have said it will be a “world-class” tourism attraction that will rake in tax revenue.

But what do individual Chicagoans stand to gain? The city once hoped it would be an economic engine in parts of Chicago that have been historically overlooked for development dollars, however all three final sites are located near downtown. City Bureau took a look at what the proposals do—and don’t—promise in the way of jobs, investment and business opportunities for Black, Latinx and other racial-minority residents.

These promises are set against the backdrop of city and state requirements. At the minimum, the selected casino developer must make a “good-faith effort” to achieve the following:

Minority ownership: At least 25% of the casino’s shares are held by minority investors. (More on the state’s designation of “minority investor” here.)
Minority contractor participation: At least 26% of spending on the development goes to minority-owned business enterprises (MBE) and at least 6% goes to women-owned businesses (WBE). (More on the city’s M/WBE designations here.)
Local hiring: At least 50% of hires are Chicago residents.

To create this chart, we reviewed the city’s evaluation report, executive summaries of proposals, Documenters’ coverage of “town halls” and casino websites. We also submitted clarifying questions to the Mayor’s Office and three casino finalists to dig into the specifics, but none answered our list of questions before this issue was published. From the available information, we pieced together a side-by-side comparison of developers’ claims as they relate to minority ownership, minority contractor participation and local hiring.

	Hard Rock at One Central	Bally’s Tribune	Rivers 78
LOCATION	One Central, a proposed megadevelopment west of Soldier Field	The site of the Chicago Tribune publishing plant in River West	The 78, a planned mixed-use development north of Chinatown
TEMPORARY CONSTRUCTION JOBS	16,607* * This is the only proposal that includes “indirect” and “induced” jobs that would not be directly created by the project.	Phase 1: 9,750 Phase 2: 2,500 Contingent on earnings from Phase 1	3,410 to 4,375
PERMANENT JOBS	3,140 (equivalent to 2,713 40-hour-a-week jobs)	2,002 (equivalent to 1,856 40-hour-a-week jobs)	3,425 (no equivalent provided)
MINORITY OWNERSHIP City/state guidance: 25% of the project should be owned by minority investors	50% owned by Hard Rock, which is majority-owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida 25.5% owned by Loop Capital, a Black-owned Chicago investment bank	90+ minority investors have expressed nonbinding interest 40% of board seats filled by minority investor representatives Proposal includes crowdfunding platform that will allow people from “targeted ZIP codes in surrounding neighborhoods” to become investors	200+ minority investors have committed $100 million worth of funding 20% of board seats filled by minority investor representatives
MINORITY CONSTRUCTION PARTICIPATION City guidance: - 26% to MBEs - 6% to WBEs	No details provided	36% MBE and 10% WBE participation Bally’s is working with the newly formed Chicago Community Builder’s Collective, which consists of eight local minority-owned construction companies	30% MBE and 10% WBE participation Bowa Construction, a Black-owned firm, has been tapped as the lead contractor
LOCAL HIRING City guidance: 50% of hires should be Chicago residents	No local hiring goals provided Will provide job training and placement through SouthSideWORKS	ZIP code-based approach to recruit minority job applicants from surrounding neighborhoods, with a goal of 60% minority hiring Any Chicago resident who applies is guaranteed an interview Will create a local jobs program for training and placement	No local hiring goals provided Will work with Hire360 to provide job training and placement
MINORITY VENDORS	- 26% to MBEs - 6% to WBEs Of annual spending on vendors	- 15% to MBEs - 10% to WBEs Of annual spending on vendors	At least $10 million in annual spending to M/W/D/VBE vendors, with a preference for businesses based in the city

Want more background and specifics on what’s going to happen next with Chicago’s first casino? Subscribe to the Newswire, a newsletter by Chicago Documenters, and read the full report behind this blog post below.