Aurora creates TIF district for new casino site
The Aurora City Council has approved a tax increment financing district for the new site of the Hollywood Aurora Casino, so Penn Entertainment can use property tax money to help pay for the $360 million project.
The new casino will be on the northeast side of the city, across from the Chicago Premium Outlets mall.
The only “nay” vote came from Alderman John Laesch, who has criticized the city’s redevelopment agreement with the casino since the council approved the deal in October 2022. Laesch was elected in 2023.
Before the Jan. 23 vote, Laesch asked questions of city staff, including about what he called a “coercive” intergovernmental agreement between the city and the Batavia school district.
In exchange for the school district representative voting in favor of the TIF at the Aurora TIF Joint Review Board last year, the school district will get some of the expected increased property taxes each year.
“Don’t use that word ‘coercive,’” Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin said to Laesch before last week’s vote.
A minute later, Irvin cut off Laesch from asking more questions or making statements.
“Clearly, you’re going to vote against this, as you vote against everything,” Irvin said, calling for a vote. But then he allowed two other aldermen who favored the TIF to make statements.
Irvin also indirectly accused Laesch, as he has before, of having an “agenda” and spreading lies and misinformation about the project.
“So at this point, for those that believe we should grow, and believe Aurora should be something more than we were in the past, and that we have to be proactive and actually do something that makes a difference, let’s call that vote and see who those people are,” Irvin said, telling the clerk to take the vote.
The casino will replace the existing one, which opened in downtown Aurora in 1993.
Revenue from the casino has declined dramatically since its heyday in the early 2000s. At that time, Aurora received about $15 million a year in gaming taxes from the casino. The city’s chief financial officer said it now only gets $4 million to $5 million.
The TIF district will last 23 years. Any property taxes above what is currently collected can be used to pay for work done to improve the property. In this case, that would include tearing down several buildings, widening roads, and building the casino with a hotel.
The city will borrow up to $50 million and then lend the money to Penn Entertainment, the casino’s owner. In addition, the city is giving about $8 million worth of land for the casino.
Penn will repay the loan from property taxes, according to the redevelopment agreement. If the increased property taxes are not enough to make a payment in any year, the deal specifies Penn has to make up the difference.
Aurora officials have said Penn would not do the project without city assistance.
Opponents argued that Penn could afford to get the loan on its own. Penn reported revenue of $6.4 billion and a profit of $221 million in its 2022 annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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