Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot traveled to Springfield in an attempt to persuade lawmakers to rewrite a tax formula that would incentivize casino development in her city.
Lightfoot believes a casino in Chicago would stimulate the local economy with jobs and transfer revenue to the state’s pension funds.
Lawmakers are less enthusiastic of a Chicago casino’s ability to generate profit.
An outside consultant reported t a 72% effective tax rate, as a result of an additional 33% tax on gross receipts, would detract developers from investing in a Chicago location.
Lightfoot met with House Speaker Mike Madigan to rework the tax structure, but left the
meeting with no concrete plans.
Lightfoot said: "We feel like things are moving forward in a positive direction, but we've got to get the language finalized and get it to the respective chambers so that legislators can see what the outlines of the legislation look like.”
Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker has signaled support of a casino in the state’s largest city.
In June, Pritzker signed into law a sports betting bill that increases the number of potential casino locations in the state.
Governor Prtizker said of the Chicago casino proposal: “It’s good for the city, it’s good for the state. We’ll be working very hard to get something through.”
