Hard Rock Casino Rockford has received state approval to begin the first steps of construction on its future casino resort near the corner of East State Street and Interstate 90.

The Illinois Gaming Board gave approval for Hard Rock to start moving dirt and lay the foundation for the resort. The city of Rockford has also issued a building permit to Hard Rock for site grading and other preliminary work. The approval was first reported by the Register Star and confirmed by the Rock River Current.

The city’s building permit calls for “mass grading for (the) future casino.” The project also involves a parking lot base course, storm sewers and other preliminary work.