Illinois bill would authorize $150M casino in Decatur

Posted: January 7, 2025, 05:02 pm.

Last updated: 7 January 2025, 05:02 PM.

Forget Sin City, a casino, harness track and 60,000-square-foot sports complex could be coming to “Soy City,” aka Decatur, Illinois, the “Soybean Capital of the World.”

Decatur was not one of five locations earmarked for regional casino licenses by the massive gambling expansion package signed by Governor JB Pritzker in June 2019. But a bill soon to be filed in the state legislature would authorize licensing for harness racing in Macon County. of which Decatur is the seat, Herald and Review Report.

But this is about to change.

The former Fairmount Park racetrack is expected to open a temporary gaming facility in the second quarter of this year. Now, a proposed project for Decatur is expected to be operational by the end of 2026.

revolutionary racing

While the new bill would essentially create an open tender for Decatur licenses, it is designed with a specific candidate in mind.

Virginia-based Revolutionary Racing has pledged to invest $150 million in the Decatur project, which it estimates will create 300 permanent jobs and generate up to $27 million in taxes.

The developer told the Herald & Review this week that he is eyeing a 2026 opening date for the proposed facility, but that depends on when the legislation is approved by the state Legislature.

Lawmakers and lobbyists supporting the bill say it is likely to be a top priority when the new legislative session begins on Wednesday. Herald and Review.

pressure on hawthorn

The bill also is expected to set a deadline for Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney near Chicago to build a racino of its own.

Shortly after Pritzker signed the enabling legislation, the state gave the track preliminary approval to move forward with the racino project in 2019. Demolition work began on its grand scale, but the project stalled and has been stalled ever since.

Hawthorne's inaction has prevented other potential projects from getting off the ground because a 2019 law gave the track the power to veto any proposed new racetrack within a 35-mile radius.

The Illinois Harness Horsemen's Association is supporting an effort to repeal Hawthorne's veto power.