Court ruling may end Emerald license battle
SPRINGFIELD -- It would appear the prolonged legal battle over who has the right to a state gambling license seemingly destined for a lucrative casino in Rosemont could finally be over.
On Thursday, the Illinois Supreme Court declined to review the case, upholding state gambling regulators' decision to strip the license from Emerald Casino.
"This decision sends a clear signal that this license is, in fact, revoked and moves the state a significant step closer to being able to reissue the license to suitable owners and generate much-needed revenues for the benefit of the people of Illinois," Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said in a prepared statement.
Not so fast, was the response from Emerald's attorney, Robert Clifford.
He claims Emerald still has a perfectly valid license, renewed earlier this year by state gambling regulators, and that the state's view of the case is flawed.
Indeed, the Illinois Gaming Board did renew Emerald's license earlier this year. But the board's chairman said Thursday that another recent court ruling clarified it's all the same license and the board plans to start the process for auctioning it off.
"They can say whatever they want to. The proceedings are now over," said gaming board Chairman Aaron Jaffe. "It's just that simple."
Clifford contends the case is far from over.
"If they start doing that," he said of auctioning off the license, "they will quickly learn there's a dissenting view."
At issue is the state's 10th and final casino license. As part of a political deal struck in 1999, it was supposed to be moved from a defunct casino on the Mississippi River to a new casino in Rosemont just minutes from O'Hare International Airport, where it was envisioned as quickly becoming immensely profitable, not only for the state but investors, too.
But the deal imploded as allegations of investor's ties to organized crime came under investigation, sparking myriad lawsuits that stuck the license and the potential gambling riches in limbo for years.
In this specific case, lawyers for the casino argued Emerald Casino was still entitled to the license because all the former investors in the project who were allegedly involved in organized crime are no longer involved in the project.