Rockford sends Hard Rock casino proposal to regulator
The IGB, gaming regulator in Illinois, will review Hard Rock casino plans after the Rockford council certified the proposal.
US.- Hard Rock’s casino proposal has taken one step further in Rockford. The city council voted 11-1 to certify the proposal and sent it to the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB).
“I am so happy we can finish saying former clock tower site and just say the new Hard Rock Site,” Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara said.
“We’re eager to turn that support into jobs, tax revenues for the City of Rockford. Obviously we want to get in and get started before some neighbouring states open some casinos,” says Hard Rock’s Chief Operating Officer Jon Lucas.
“I just hope it’s a beginning of more businesses. Such that come to our city and look at Rockford as a place to do business,” Alderperson Chad Tuneberg added. “We’re excited that Hard Rock is going to be putting money throughout the city, not just on the east side, but also downtown and on the west side.”
Taxes
The gambling industry in Illinois keeps reporting changes, this time by introducing a new law that will allow Rockford to increase taxes. On August 9, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law a bill that allows Rockford to raise taxes on video gaming machines.
The Senate Bill 1558, which takes effect immediately, was sponsored by Senator Steve Stadelman. It allows Rockford to raise licence fees on video gaming machines in order to generate more revenue.
Current laws feature a non-home rule that says that cities in Illinois can’t charge more than US$25 annually for a video gaming machine licence. The new Illinois law raises the limit to US$250, but it only does in Rockford.
