Incentivize the non-gambling part lest we end up with entirely the wrong kind of place. This project should be seen in the same vein. Second, the city has to see the gambling part of this project as merely a portion of what could be achieved with the right kind of tourist-oriented development.Ĭonsider: If a developer was planning a hotel or entertainment complex without a casino, they’d be in the market for tax incentives, not suffering the burden of disincentives. The City Council has to stop demanding and start facilitating: 40% of little or nothing isn’t a solution for Chicago. Industry experts tell us that the tax rate is so high that the only way to make a profit with such a burden is to put up the kind of cheap, depressing, vanilla box that does nothing to enhance the city, and pales in comparison to the amenity-rich operations you can find in Las Vegas, sure, but also New Buffalo.
Job one here is that the city must think less about the $200 million in revenue it hopes to put toward its pension obligations and more about offering up a plan that could help a business succeed.
