Take a hard look at changes in Bally’s casino hotel tower plans

When it comes to building Chicago’s first casino — the big gaming and entertainment center planned for the Chicago Tribune’s Freedom Center site in River West — the city’s luck keeps getting worse.

The latest snare became public last week when officials revealed the complex’s planned 35-story hotel tower would damage underground municipal water pipes if it were to be built on the north end of the casino site as planned.

Bally’s now plans to build the 100-room hotel inside a 74-foot tall building already proposed for the south end of the site.

Here’s the thing: Moving the hotel isn’t a mere tweak of the original plan, but a pretty major redo of a scheme that had already been approved by the Chicago Plan Commission and City Council.

Given that — and the whole rushed and snake-bit process that came up with the Freedom Center location and Bally’s as the winning casino operator — Mayor Brandon Johnson would do well to send the whole thing back to the Plan Commission and City Council for re-approval.

The latest misstep

Foundations for the proposed hotel would interfere with the underground water pipes, necessitating the building’s relocation, Bally’s said.

Shame on Bally’s and the city for not having done the work months ago to determine what is underneath the planned hotel site near Chicago Avenue and the river.

But the oversight is only the latest example of the assorted hinkiness and unmet expectations that have surrounded the entire casino deal from the start.

For instance, the temporary casino that’s been operating since last summer at Medinah Temple, in River North at 600 N. Wabash Ave., has only generated about $3.1 million for the city. Bally’s and former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s had promised a lot more.

And then there are lingering questions about how Bally’s won the casino concession in the first place.

The Sun-Times reported last June that Nomura Securities, a city consultant selected to evaluate casino proposals when Lightfoot was mayor, had financial ties to Bally’s — the company that was ultimately selected over two more established enterprises to build and operate the casino.

Did the relationship help Bally’s win the Chicago casino? As this editorial board wrote, the public has the right to know.

‘Shovels in the ground’ by 2024

Bally’s says it will have the permanent casino opened at the Freedom Center site by Sept. 9, 2026, as required by state legislation.

“We are one step closer to the start of construction of the permanent casino by working closely with all stakeholders including the city,” a Bally’s spokesperson said last week. “We look forward to getting shovels in the ground in 2024.”

What mustn’t be lost in all this is that the casino is supposed to be built for the good of the public, with gaming revenue helping pay off the city’s hefty pension obligations.

That means taxpayers have a stake in the casino being built and run correctly. The public has to be confident that everything is open and above board, and that the casino will generate enough revenue to make it worthwhile, especially at a time when online and app-based sports betting takes a bigger chunk of the gaming pie with every new commercial voiced by yet another retired star athlete.

This editorial board has been skeptical since 2022 that Bally’s can actually pull this off. But the city has to make sure.

Certainly, in light of the hotel issue, Johnson should send the casino development plans back through the approval process and make it clear to Bally’s that the company better make sure there are no more surprises from here on out.

This is one game the city can’t afford to lose.

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