“Where’s mine?”
Wags around City Hall say it ought to be Chicago’s motto. It would fit nicely on the city seal: “ubi est meum?” instead of “urbs in horto.”
Ah, yes. Mighty Chicagaah, capital of clout.
But the city is in decline, as we know. The suburbs are grabbing most of the new growth, the new jobs, even a few cultural attractions that aren’t called Cineplex 1-8.
So it was probably inevitable that suburbia would overtake Chicago in that one last category for which our city is recognized around the world. You know, the old political switcheroo, the wink-and-nod, the wheel-and-deal, the “sorry, sucker” double cross.
Breathes there a Chicagoan who hasn’t bragged to out-of-towners about how Daley-the-elder stole the 1960 presidential election figures for Jack Kennedy? Or how Congressman Dan Rostenkowski pulled strings to get money or change federal law in order to build expressways, subway lines and even a baseball park?
New York has Broadway. Los Angeles has Hollywood. We have grasping politics.
It really hurts to lose our edge on this one. Indeed, it feels even worse than when L.A. overtook Chicago to become the real second city. At least L.A. is a city, kind of. This time we’ve been one-upped by a crew of polyester pols and money men from places such as West Dundee, Wood Dale and Arlington Heights. The indignity!
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Why do I think the suburbs now outslicker the city?
Because I’ve just seen millionaire horseman Richard Duchossois’ plans for a gambling mecca along the Fox River north of Elgin.
That’s right, the same Richard Duchossois who helped finance the campaign against Mayor Richard Daley’s plan for a downtown casino and amusement park. The same Richard Duchossois who helped convince our teetotaling, horse-loving governor that gambling in Chicago would not only corrupt the morals of youth but damage the state’s horse-racing industry so badly that the new jobs in Chicago would be canceled by jobs lost elsewhere.
At least that’s what Duchossois said last year, when he and the governor convinced our gullible state legislature to block Daley’s casino plan.
But now Diamond Dick is singing a different tune about Vegas-style gambling. And now it is clear why he really opposed a casino in Chicago.
He wanted one of his own.
Not a huge land-based one, but the next best thing. It’s going to be called the Fox River Resort in West Dundee, a layout his publicists claim will “set a new standard of elegance in the development of a multidimensional entertainment, riverboat casino and hotel complex.”
The resort would be on 30 acres just north of the Interstate Highway 90 bridge over the Fox River. Ed Duffy, Duchossois’ right-hand man, said his boss decided that with the proliferation of gambling riverboats around the state, it was necessary to get a piece of the action or watch Arlington’s parimutuel handle dwindle while bettors left the track for the boats.
Near as I can tell, this is a done deal. (To be world-class, a bamboozle like this must be a cinch before it goes public. Only suckers, or has-beens, go hat-in-hand to Springfield and say, “Gee, can we have a casino?” or “Shucks, would you let us build a third airport?” Diamond Dick doesn’t operate that way.)
All Duchossois needs is approval from two Gov. Jim Edgar-appointed regulatory boards. That should be easy. The two men are old pals. Edgar is a regular in the owner’s box at Duchossois’ Arlington International Racecourse.
So even though it will hold hearings and agonize in public, count on the Illinois Gaming Board to approve the application of Mr. Duchossois and his newfound partner, Mirage Resorts Inc., to get the state’s 10th and last riverboat-gambling permit. Other applicants (wink) don’t stand a chance.
Sure, the other towns will whine that they need the economic development more than West Dundee, a Kane County burg whose 3,728 citizens have median incomes well above the area average. But they’ll be wasting their breath.
Likewise, expect the Illinois Racing Board to let Duchossois build an off-track betting parlor as part of the $92 million dining-entertainment-hotel complex where the riverboat ties up. As for all the needed zoning changes and sewer permits, the promise of mega-tax dollars should undercut any NIMBYs or environmentalists who try to get in the way.
Oh, the beauty of it! For students of the political sucker punch, this one’s a lollapalooza, a true classic.
So what happens, you ask, to Daley’s plan for a casino complex that would create thousands of jobs in the city, where jobs are needed the most?
Don’t be so idealistic. Just sit back and enjoy the passing of clout’s torch, all the way from Wacker Drive to West Dundee.