Top mayoral aide defends Bally's after disappointing temporary casino performance
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration on Friday defended Bally’s even though the gaming giant’s temporary casino at Medinah Temple has so far delivered less than half the jackpot the city anticipated to bail out police and fire pensions.
Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski said Bally’s potential to become the cash cow that Chicago needs it to be can only be judged once construction is completed at the $1.7 billion casino and entertainment complex in River West.
Jaworski acknowledged that the temporary casino generated just $16 million in gaming tax revenue for the city last year, less than half the $35 million Johnson’s first budget anticipated.
The Medinah casino also came up short — at 80% and 65% respectively — on two other key measures: overall foot traffic and gaming revenues-per-admission. She blamed a “larger than expected impact from a lack of amenities and on-site parking” needed to “keep people in the casino longer.”
Testifying at the City Council’s annual hearing on casino compliance reporting, Jaworski argued that Bally’s full potential can only be reached and measured once the company builds and opens its permanent gambling den in River West.
“For a casino to really thrive, you need all of the other amenities. … We continue to be very excited about the permanent casino, which is going to offer all of the amenities and entertainment that you would expect when you go to a full-blown casino,” Jaworski told the Committee on Contracting Oversight and Equity.
Though Bally's hasn't hit the city's numbers, it was the third-highest grossing casino of 16 in Illinois last year, raking in overall revenue of nearly $125 million, according to Illinois Gaming Board figures. It was the state's second-biggest draw for gamblers, who made almost 1.4 million trips through the turnstiles at Medinah in 2024.
Bally's executives have said they're still growing their customer base.
With once shaky financing secured, Jaworski said she’s confident that demolition stalled by an inadvertent debris dump might even be completed this month that could pave the way for construction. Bally's is required by state law to open the permanent casino at Chicago Avenue and Halsted Street by September 2026.
“This is a much larger, permanent project. There’s going to be 4,000 gaming positions, a 500-room hotel, over 3,000 parking spaces on site as well as an entertainment center and a single-floor casino design with many other amenities,” Jaworski said. “We’re expecting the permanent casino to generate hundreds of millions of dollars to support our police and fire pensions, to which our casino revenues are dedicated, as well as thousands of construction and operation jobs for Chicagoans.”
Alderpersons were equally concerned about two other areas where Bally’s has fallen woefully short: minority contracting in casino operations and the number of “labor hours” given to residents of economically distressed communities.
“I’m excited that they’re over in some goals. But we need all of the goals to be met,” said South Side Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th). “If they’re struggling during the temporary phase, we don’t want to get to the permanent phase and have the same problems.”
Economic Development Committee Chair Gilbert Villegas (36th) questioned why two city departments — Housing and Planning and Development — now share responsibility for casino compliance.
“Accountability should not be a mishmash. … There needs to be uniformity,” Villegas said, promising to introduce an ordinance mandating streamlined compliance.
South Side Ald. David Moore (17th) told Villegas: “I look forward to doing that with you."