Letter from the Alderman (08.24.26) Β Β Dear Neighbors, Β Back in March, I stood with five of my colleagues, Alderperson Jessie Fuentes, Alderman Jason Ervin, Alderwoman Rosanna Rodriguez-Sanchez, Alderman Anthony Quezada, and Alderwoman Maria Hadden, and asked the License Committee to let us ban video gaming terminals in our own wards. The committee said no. I want you to understand what that means: this body has always let an alderman have the final word on vice in his own ward, whether it's liquor, cannabis, or hemp. Video gambling was treated differently. Β I understand the pressure behind it. The city needed revenue, and the 2026 budget leaned on VGT licensing fees to help close the gap. I don't dismiss that need; however, I've sat in enough budget hearings to know how thin that margin really is. But a slot machine in the corner of a mid-block restaurant on the South Side carries a different weight than it does in a ward with three casinos' worth of foot traffic. Other states that legalized these machines saw gambling addiction climb and burglaries spike as robbers look to loot the machines. Moreover, the vote to reject the ban didn't happen without warning; Council was told at the time that allowing video gambling across the city would handicap our only permanent casino before it even opened, burden small businesses with the cost of increased security, strain city resources, and reduce the quality of life in neighborhoods like mine. Β Revenue and moral responsibility can often conflict, but in this moment, what is right aligns with what is profitable for the city. Β In this week's news, we have even more details that complicate this dilemma. Bally's has slowed construction on major pieces of its $1.7 billion River West casino, including the hotel tower, the event center, the restaurants, the food hall, and roughly 1,500 union tradespeople who were working the site have been temporarily sidelined as a result. Bally's points to the 2022 agreement it signed with the city, which it says promised no competing gaming machines while the permanent casino was being built, and argues that the video terminals now spreading through bars and restaurants citywide put that revenue at risk. Β It's worth understanding why that argument has some truth to it. Between January and July of this year, video terminals earned about $532 million in revenue statewide, compared to nearly $222 million from casinos. Machines that are closer, more numerous, and easier to walk up to are pulling gambling dollars away from the destination casino model the city was counting on. Β Here's why that matters beyond River West. By state law, casino tax revenue is earmarked for the police and fire pension funds, at a significantly higher rate than the VGT revenue mentioned above. But that pension funding is now at risk on two fronts: The casino deal: The city gets $0.25 of every $1.00 in casino tax revenue, which was projected to generate around $200 million a year for the pension funds. So far, the temporary casino at Medinah Temple has fallen well short. It brought in $15.28 million in new gaming tax revenue in 2025, though the temporary casino is only about a quarter the size of the planned permanent one. The Bally's penalty clause: Under the city's agreement with Bally's, if competing gaming terminals disrupt their business, the city owes Bally's a fee, potentially as much as $74 million a year, while also putting up to 1,050 casino-linked jobs at risk. The VGT shortfall: The 2026 budget counted on $6.8 million in revenue from VGT licensing fees, even though the city keeps just 5% of every dollar those machines take in. Eight months into the year, none of that revenue has materialized.
Put those numbers side by side: a potential shortfall of $214 million to gain $7 million, and the picture is harder to defend than the vote suggested it would be. The city needed revenue quickly, and video gambling was the promised source. That revenue hasn't shown up, while the cost to a much larger revenue stream the one carrying our police and fire pensions is already being slashed. Β Chasing a short-term number to patch this year's budget while straining the long-term revenue meant to secure that promise isn't just a bad trade. It's asking the people who protect this city to absorb the risk of our shortsightedness. I want our first responders to retire with the same peace of mind they gave the rest of us for thirty years, not a pension fund holding its breath because a slot machine opened up down the block. Β That's why I'll keep pushing to return this authority to the alderman, where it belongs, and fight back against this unjustified legalization across the city. I'll keep you posted as this develops. Β Β Β Sincerely, Alderman Walter Redmond Burnett 27th Ward |
