Chicago's first casino was pitched as new tax money for the city, including help for its police and fire pensions. Bally's temporary casino in River North brought in $15.28 million in new gaming tax revenue for the city in 2025, down slightly from 2024, city financial officials told the City Council's Contracting and Oversight Equity Committee in January, WTTW News reported.
How the casino came about
Then Mayor Lori Lightfoot started the bidding for a casino resort in April 2021, WTTW reported at the time. The city chose Bally's proposal in May 2022, according to iGaming Business, and the City Council approved the deal in December 2022, WTTW reported. In October 2023, the Illinois Gaming Board gave Bally's final approval on its gaming license, according to Block Club Chicago.
What the temporary casino has delivered
The temporary casino at Medinah Temple opened in September 2023 and has brought in $87 million in new tax revenue for the city, according to city data cited by WTTW. More than 60 percent of that money came from $52 million in flat fees Bally's agreed to pay under the deal, WTTW reported.
About 1.3 million people visited the temporary casino in 2025, about the same as the year before, which led to a 1.3 percent drop in tax revenue, Bally's Chicago President Ameet Patel told the committee, according to WTTW.
Bally's reported nearly $125 million in adjusted gross revenue in 2025, WTTW reported. City officials had originally projected the temporary casino would generate more than $253 million, according to the same report.
The permanent casino
The permanent casino is being built in River West on the site of the former Chicago Tribune printing plant. City officials had been counting on it to send roughly $200 million to the police and fire pension funds, WTTW reported. Bally's told the committee in January that it was working to open it by the end of 2026, and has asked state officials to let the temporary casino keep operating until September 2027. Chris Jewett, a Bally's senior vice president, said the permanent casino had to be redesigned after city officials found the planned site of its hotel tower would damage city water pipes.
More recently, WTTW reported that Bally's halted construction of the hotel and concert venue amid a dispute over video gambling. The City Council's 2026 budget legalized video poker and slot machines in Chicago bars and restaurants with liquor licenses. A study by a city consultant warned the decision could cost nearly 400 jobs at the permanent casino, and city officials expect Bally's will stop paying the city $4 million a year that its 2022 agreement called for, WTTW reported.
The budget
The city projects a budget gap of $882.4 million for 2027, WBEZ reported in September. The Sun-Times reported that Mayor Brandon Johnson did not explicitly rule out increasing the property tax.
"This has not worked," Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th) said of the casino at the January hearing, according to WTTW.
Our view
A project sold as a fix should be judged by what it delivers. The numbers reported so far are well below what the city projected.
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