Five sites in Chicago will be reviewed as possible locations for a casino.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot made the announcement Wednesday, saying a consultant will study the economic feasibility of each site. It’s possible that a casino won’t be placed at any of the sites, which are on the city’s South and West sides.
They include a former U.S. Steel site and the former Michael Reese Hospital. Lightfoot supports a casino as a way to raise revenue to improve the city’s pension funds and ignite economic development. She calls the pensions funds “severely underfunded.”
Casino gambling in Chicago was authorized this year by the General Assembly. Gov. JB Pritzker says he’d like to see a casino away from downtown.
