Court upholds board authority to revoke Emerald Casino license

An Illinois Appellate Court has ruled a state law that allowed the move of the Emerald Casino to Rosemont does not prevent the Illinois Gaming Board from revoking the firm's gambling license.

In a decision issued in May, the Illinois Appellate Court for the Fourth District upheld a 2005 Gaming Board decision to revoke the gambling license of the defunct Emerald Casino Inc. The board found that Emerald officials had lied to state investigators and sold shares to two investors with alleged ties to organized crime.

Emerald appealed, arguing the state law passed in 1999 gave them the right to build a casino in Rosemont.

But in an unanimous decision Monday, a three-judge panel of the 1st District Appellate Court in Chicago disagreed. Writing for the panel, Judge Warren Wolfson wrote the 1999 law neither stripped the state Gaming Board of its power to regulate Emerald Casino nor granted Emerald "amnesty" for any past misdeeds.

Emerald hasn't been in operation since 2001 when the gaming board decided for the second time not to renew the casino's license. At the time, Emerald operated in the Galena area and wanted to relocate to suburban Rosemont, which spent years and millions of dollars trying to lure the project.

Lawyers for Emerald could not be reached for comment, but Emerald could seek to appeal Monday's ruling to the Illinois Supreme Court.

If Emerald ultimately loses its legal battle, that would free up the state's long-dormant 10th casino gambling license.