Ameristar intends to give $35 million to rebuild the Cline Avenue bridge, but casino officials are closely monitoring a potential expansion of gambling in Illinois to determine if the investment is still worth it.
The operator of East Chicago’s casino is waiting for the final outcome of the legislation so they can better understand how it will impact the gambling industry around Chicago, a senior vice president for Ameristar said.
“We are in wait-and-see mode to see exactly what impact and what the landscape looks like to be able to evaluate what gaming looks like moving forward in Chicagoland and then make a determination if making such a significant commitment still makes sense,” said Troy Stremming, Ameristar senior vice president of government relations.
Ameristar has discussed the $35 million figure in preliminary talks with the Indiana Department of Transportation.
The Indiana Gaming Commission approved on Thursday the company’s ability to request $10 million in funds it set aside in a restricted account to use toward the contribution it’s considering for the bridge project.
Around $30.2 million in casino money is held in two funds as the city of East Chicago, Foundations of East Chicago and Second Century continue to argue over the rightful recipient.
Ameristar now needs to obtain a court order so it can use the funds, Stremming said. If approved, the $10 million would come from a fund created in 2006 to hold payments Ameristar would have made to Second Century.
The state commission ruled in 2006 that Second Century shouldn’t receive casino funds under the local development agreement Ameristar has with East Chicago, according to Ameristar.
East Chicago Mayor Anthony Copeland saw the decision as the state commission giving Ameristar public dollars. He felt the East Chicago City Council should have been involved if any of that casino money was allocated to rebuild the bridge.
Copeland still has not signed an agreement to take back Riley and Dickey roads from the state, which is vital for the project to move forward.
“Ameristar has never said they wanted money out of escrow. When I got wind they may have asked for it, it was best for me (to know) whether it was going to be fact or fiction,” Copeland said. “Today, I know it’s fact ... Now the city of East Chicago needs to ask itself can it take on the financial burden of the maintenance of Riley and Dickey forever because right now the state has total responsibility of maintaining Riley, Dickey and the bridge, so what was once a no-brainer, now it makes you have to think — what is the financial, economic toll now that they are giving a for-profit public monies?