Chicago City Council members voice criticisms of casino sites

Chicago City Council members voice criticisms of casino sites

Article brief provided by Chicago Sun-Times
  • Fran Spielman and David Roeder, Chicago Sun-Times
April 19, 2022 10:50 PM
  • Fran Spielman and David Roeder, Chicago Sun-Times

With Chicago’s three proposed casino sites getting a torrent of opposition from neighbors, alderpersons are increasingly critical of plans in or near their wards.

Story continues below

The latest to weigh in on a casino site was Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd), who Monday issued a statement opposing the Hard Rock casino proposed as part of the One Central development near Soldier Field. Dowell said that while Chicago needs the revenue from a casino, “The devil is in the details” and the One Central site doesn’t make the grade.

Dowell, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s handpicked chairperson of the City Council’s Budget Committee, said the Hard Rock plan “would be dropped into an existing, well-established family community in the Prairie District of Chicago’s South Loop.”