Site of Olympic Village in Chicago will not become a Casino
Mayor Richard Daley quickly turned away the idea of a casino on the site of what would have been the 2016 Olympic Village. Aldermen Richard Mell, 33rd, and George Cardenas, 12th, suggested the plan Thursday, but on Friday, a week after Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 Games was denied, and Daley said he expects new homes to replace the old Michael Reese Hospital on the 37-acre site. The city recently bought it for $91 million. “I don’t know why everybody is going around thinking casinos are the answers to all the problems of society,” the mayor said. Mayor Daley is completely against such a proposal. Without the Mayor’s support the proposition will not pass.
Illinois is just one of the states hoping to bring in slots and casinos to increase revenues to the state. Many states are suffering now that the recession is over. Budgets are big and deficits are bigger. The problem started with the recession when cities were hit hard by the economic downfall. The unemployment rate skyrocketed, throwing consumers into a frenzy. They all wondered how to make ends meet and stopped spending altogether. That made matters even worse. Without spending, businesses were hampered and started lay-offs and cutbacks. That made matters unbearable. The market continued its downfall. Experts cited the past year’s recession as the worst economic time since the Great Depression of the 1940s. It was a hard time for everyone and it’s first now that nascent signs of a turnaround are being seen.
Though many states are eager to incorporate gambling into their market as a means of bringing in money, Illinois is not one of them. Mayor Daley has been a strong opponent of bringing gambling into the city of Chicago. When the proposal was first made to make the Michael Reese Hospital a location for a new casino, backers were excited. They believed it would be a lucrative move for the state to embark on. They touted the millions of dollars in tax-revenues that would be brought into the state via gambling as a huge advantage. Unfortunately, the mayor and other legislators disagreed and quickly shot down the proposal. They vowed to nix the plan and that seems to be what is fleshing out.
Tags: Chicago, Daley, Olimpic Village
