Gaming
Construction Restarts on $1.7B Bally's Casino in Chicago
Work paused due to use of unauthorized vendor with alleged links to organized crime
Construction restarted on Bally's $1.7-billion casino, which had been stopped by officials because of use of a vendor with previous alleged ties to organized crime.
Photo courtesy of Bally's Chicago
With an unauthorized vendor now off the project, construction resumed May 15 at Bally’s Casino in Chicago, a $1.7-billion project that was paused due to a claim its contractors included an unauthorized waste hauler previously alleged to have had connections to organized crime.
While the investigation is ongoing, the Illinois Gaming Board, which issued the stop work order on May 1, said it is satisfied there are no current unauthorized subcontractors working on the 30-acre project in the River West neighborhood and that the casino owner is committed to keeping the regulator informed of all current and future project vendors.
Lauren Westerfield, a spokesperson for Bally's, confirmed that D & P Construction of Melrose Park, Ill., is no longer the project waste hauler. D & P was previously alleged by the FBI to have been controlled by chiefs of a Chicago organized crime syndicate. Concerns over the contractor's connections to organized crime 20 years ago helped scuttle a different project to build a casino in Rosemont, Ill.
“Bally’s has disclosed, and assured the ongoing disclosure of, all proposed vendors to the [board]," said Beth Kaufman, a board spokesperson.. “With [its] direction and oversight, Bally’s is implementing required improvements to its vendor and contractor compliance processes and protocols along with additional steps to enhance monitoring, supervision and surveillance at the construction site.”
The project's general contractor is the Chicago Community Building Collective, which has not commented on the investigation. It is made up of a management team of minority-led firms that includes Brown & Momen Inc., d’Escoto Inc., LiveWire Construction Inc., Milhouse Engineering and Construction, Powers & Sons Construction, UJAMAA Construction Inc., Riteway-Huggins Construction Services Inc. and SQN Associates LLC, along with Gilbane Building Co.
The use of an undisclosed subcontractor came to light following a report in the Chicago Sun-Times that the project was using D & P Construction as its waste hauler.
Demolition of a Chicago Tribune printing plant, which previously occupied the site, started in September. In addition to the casino, Bally's plans to build a 34-story hotel on the site next to the Chicago River. Bally's now operates a temporary casino in Chicago as it awaits the permanent casino.completion.
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