Chicago casino bill fails to come up a House vote
The bill that aimed to fix the casino tax structure to make a Chicago facility feasible failed to pass the Illinois House.
US.- Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot travelled to Springfield earlier this week to push for a casino bill that would’ve fixed the tax structure and make the facility profitable and feasible. Despite multiple attempts, the Illinois House adjourned on Thursday afternoon and ended the hopes to have the Chicago casino bill passed this fall veto session.
The Thursday session started with good prospects as it appeared that Democrats had gathered enough votes to pass the bill. However, a Republican representative filed a series of requests for information asking how the tax changes would impact construction projects in Illinois and delayed the vote.
Lightfoot will have to wait until the spring session to make changes in the gaming bill. She aimed at reducing the 72% tax rate for a Chicago casino as multiple analysts had said that it wouldn’t attract investors.
The Chicago report
Union Gaming Analytics conducted an analysis that says that the high tax and fee structure in the Illinois law would make the Chicago project “generally not financially feasible.” The results would be the same regardless of where the casino is located.
After the findings, Lightfoot talked about the implications. “While the study confirms our concerns about the tax structure that the legislature passed, we know this can be addressed. We look forward to working with the governor and legislative leaders to revise the legislation.”
The analysis from Union Gaming says the law features the highest effective gaming tax and fee structure in the country. The legislation, therefore, makes it difficult to finance a Chicago casino and generate profits.
