Responding to a construction slowdown by Bally’s Chicago over the city’s authorization of video gambling terminals, a group of 27 aldermen issued a demand letter to the casino company Wednesday calling for a public hearing and the resumption of the full development project.
The letter, sent to Christopher Jewett, senior vice president of corporate development for Bally’s, challenges the legality of the construction pause on the hotel and other nongaming amenities at the $1.7 billion casino complex going up in the River West neighborhood.
“Chicago did not enter into an agreement for a casino floor alone,” the aldermen wrote. “It entered into an agreement for the complete development Bally’s promised to build. The Council expects Bally’s to deliver that project and expects the administration to enforce that commitment.”
Bally’s Chicago issued a reset notice Saturday to the Chicago Community Builders Collective, a general contracting partnership overseeing the casino complex construction, putting everything from the 34-story hotel and events center to a number of planned restaurants on hold, citing the advent of VGTs as a violation of its agreement with the city.
Casino construction continues, and the gambling facility remains on target for an early 2027 opening, but the larger entertainment complex has ground to a halt, pending resolution of the VGT dispute.
The slowdown also idled, at least temporarily, about 1,500 workers at the Bally’s Chicago site this week.
Bally’s issued a statement Wednesday defending the construction slowdown and welcoming a public hearing on the matter.
“We are looking forward to appearing before the City Council to speak to why we are resetting the construction schedule,” Bally’s Chicago said. “We understand and embrace our obligations under the Host Community Agreement for jobs and capital investment. We have held up, and will hold up, our end of the bargain.”
Bally’s contends the legalization of video gambling terminals in Chicago as part of this year’s budget violates the 2022 host agreement between the Rhode Island-based company and the city to build the permanent casino and amenities. It is also a point of contention between Mayor Brandon Johnson and the aldermen who included the terminals in the budget over his objection.
Johnson waded into the VGT dispute and Bally’s construction slowdown on Tuesday.
“The concerns that Bally’s has were the concerns that I had, and I expressed that to members of City Council,” Johnson said. “So this is, quite frankly, it was expected.”
A mayoral spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the City Council demand letter Wednesday.
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Illinois passed the Video Gaming Act in 2009 and the machines launched at restaurants, truck stops and bars in 2012. There are now nearly 50,000 VGTs at more than 8,700 locations across the state — the most in the country, according to the Illinois Gaming Board.
Chicago approved video gambling last fall, and aldermen included revenue from the terminals in the 2026 budget, hoping to plug a $6.8 million funding gap.
There have been 311 applications for Chicago VGT locations with the Illinois Gaming Board, including 42 that have been licensed by the state, an agency spokesperson said Monday. But none have begun operating in Chicago, pending final approval from the city.
In their letter, the aldermen said the VGTs must be “actually operating” before Bally’s can claim a violation of the host agreement and seek “good-faith renegotiation” of its terms.
“That is not where we are today,” the aldermen said. “VGTs have been authorized, but they are not operating.”
Signatories to the demand letter include Ald. Brian Hopkins, 2nd; Ald. Pat Dowell, 3rd; and Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th, who has been a leading proponent of VGTs in Chicago.
In May 2022, Bally’s won a heated competition to build a $1.7 billion entertainment complex, including a 500-room hotel, a 3,000-seat theater, 10 restaurants and 4,000 gaming positions, at the site of the former Tribune printing plant in River West. Bally’s has been operating a smaller temporary casino at Medinah Temple in River North since 2023.
Beyond slowing construction, sources familiar with the matter say Bally’s is planning to withhold an annual $4 million payment to the city due in September, pending resolution of the VGT dispute. A lot more is at stake than that payment, with the city projecting the permanent casino complex to generate $200 million in annual local tax revenue.
In addition to challenging the legality of the construction slowdown, the aldermen also questioned the financial capacity of Bally’s to complete the $1.7 billion project as planned.
“The Council also has legitimate questions regarding Bally’s financial capacity to complete the entire development,” the aldermen said in the letter. “Given the selective construction slowdown, Chicago taxpayers deserve clear assurances that sufficient financing remains available to complete all of the Components Bally’s committed to build.”
Meanwhile, Bally’s said it has exceeded the requirements of the host agreement, including plans to deliver the 500-room hotel at opening, which is far beyond the original phased rollout of the project.
As such, the casino company contends hitting the brakes on the hotel and nongaming construction is covered by the host agreement that the city itself may be violating with the potential imminent launch of VGTs.
“Until we had to make this difficult decision, we had been rushing to exceed the HCA’s requirements,” Bally’s Chicago said, referring to the Host Community Agreement. “The looming expansion of gaming within the city limits forces us to reconsider the logic of exceeding the requirements.”
The appropriation committees of the City Council plan to call representatives of Bally’s and the Johnson administration to a public hearing to explain what work has been stopped and why, and whether sufficient financing remains available to complete the entire project.
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No date for that hearing has been announced.