Chicago casino bidder Rivers 78 faces public scrutiny at hearing

The Rivers 78 casino proposed for the vacant mega-development along the South Branch of the Chicago River is the only finalist where a casino would be built first with a neighborhood sprouting up around it, the backers of the plan emphasized Thursday.

That observation came at the last of three community meetings held this week by Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office and the finalists for Chicago’s sole casino license.

Rivers 78 is a joint venture of casino magnate Neil Bluhm’s Rush Street Gaming and prolific developer Related Midwest, who own the land near Clark Street and Roosevelt Road.

The 78 is a 141-acre, $7 billion development that required years of planning and clearing city regulatory hurdles before receiving $700 million in tax increment financing subsidies for infrastructure necessary to support the project.

The site is still largely a blank canvas, aside from the coming University of Illinois Discovery Partners Institute, which represents an opportunity to “create an entire neighborhood from the ground up with a casino already integrated from the beginning,” said Related Midwest CEO Curt Bailey.

Bluhm did not take the stage Thursday; instead, Rush Street CFO Tim Drehkoff represented the company.

The proposal has faced organized political opposition, including from local Ald. Byron Sigcho Lopez, 25th, who said Monday 80% of residents surveyed by his office oppose the casino.

After the meeting, Sigcho Lopez said the presentation didn’t address the “legitimate concerns” of his community.

If Rivers 78 is announced the winner over his objection, he said he’ll “continue to engage” residents who are “demanding answers to their concerns, which is public safety, the proximity to the river, the proximity of high schools around the area, the issues with mental health and affordable housing.”

Ahead of the meeting, held at the Isadore and Sadie Dorin Forum at the University of Illinois-Chicago, a protest was organized by the 11th and 25th ward independent political organizations.

Grace Chan McKibben, executive director of the Coalition For A Better Chinese American Community, said at the protest that casinos in the past have “preyed” on vulnerable residents of Chinatown, which sits just southwest of the site.

McKibben said her organization was “founded in 1998 because of the proliferation of casino buses in Chinatown” which regularly pick up “mostly seniors” to travel to casinos in Indiana.

“We believe that we do not need a casino anywhere in Chicago, but especially not near Chinatown,” she said.

Rivers 78 did not directly answer questions about Chinatown, but said it has structures in place to identify problem gamblers and attempt to help them recover. It also would not engage in predatory marketing, Drehkoff said.

“We don’t do marketing like that. It’s not good for business,” he said. “Our customers are high-end, they come to our casino to have some fun, make some wagers and have a great time.”

Rivers 78 plans to build the $1.62 billion casino at Related Midwest’s The 78 mega-development, where they plan to erect an entire new neighborhood on vacant land south of the Loop along the Chicago River.

In addition to the 2,600 slot, 190 table game casino, the project includes a 300-room hotel, riverfront entertainment venue, restaurants, a food hall and five bars.

Six years after opening, the casino would bring in an estimated $174.2 million, if the site includes a planned hotel and observation tower, in annual revenue to the city, according to a city analysis. That is the lowest projection of the three finalists.

Rivers 78 estimates it could launch a temporary riverboat casino in the summer of 2024, with the permanent location to follow in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Nosa Ehimwenman, CEO of Bowa Construction, argued the fact his Black-owned firm will lead construction at the site showed the commitment of the team to Black and Brown Chicagoans.

Ehimwenman announced the development team would add two board positions for minorities to further participate in the project, saying they are taking that step “not because it was a city requirement, but because we know it matters."

After Mayor Lori Lightfoot selects a finalist, the winner will be evaluated by a new special City Council committee created last month. If approved, the proposal needs full City Council sign-off before being sent to the Illinois Gaming Board for its own review process.

A winner of the casino license is not expected for another two months, Ald. Tom Tunney, 44th, who will chair the City Council committee, said Thursday.