Wisconsin can’t prevent Ho-Chunk Nation’s expansion

The Governor said that there’s legally nothing the administration can do to prevent the Tribe from expanding its casino.

US.- Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker said that the government has no power to stop Ho-Chunk Nation from expanding its casino in central Wisconsin. The other two tribes in the state, the Stockbridge-Munsee and Menominee, raised concerns and claimed that allowing Ho-Chunk’s expansion goes against the criteria that Walker established and used to block a Menominee casino.

The tribe signed an agreement with the state back in 2003, and Walker stated that he doesn’t have the authority to intervene in the case because Ho-Chunk is staying within the compact, which gives the tribe the option to expand its Wittenberg facility near the other two tribes.

“It doesn’t require any approval from me or the administration. It was approved in the compact that Jim Doyle settled with the Ho-Chunk years ago. They chose to invoke it now. But I have legally no authority to block that,” Walker said.

The Ho-Chunk tribe has already started the US$33 million expansion. The tribe has no official reservation boundaries in Wisconsin.