Watch for move for city to own casino
For what seems like decades or for as long as Senator Terry Link has been the champion of gambling expansion, a bill is passed that Gov. Pritzker happily signs. Loading up on taxes and fees Democrats believed developers would "eat" in order to mine the largesse of the Illinois gamblers, reality from an outside consultant slammed the brakes on. Why?
Even with a downtown Chicago location, the onerous taxes and fees would leave a casino owner with a single-digit profit margin. Chicago's slice of the pie would be 33.3% of profits after gamblers are paid off. The consultants report that existing gambling taxes coupled with the new requirements of the Chicago license would push the Illinois tax rate to 72%. Federal taxes would add to the tax burden.
This is all a straw dog feint. The only salvation we'll be told to save the Chicago casino is for the casino to be Chicago owned. Wait for it. It's coming.
Steve Sarich
Grayslake