Waukegan's Challenged Potawatomi Land Acquisition Reemerges
A lawsuit alleging unfair treatment in the bidding process for the license of Illinois' Waukegan casino has been reinstated on appeal, even though the winning bidder, Full House Resorts, has already opened a temporary casino on the site. Forest County Potawatomi Community tribe of Wisconsin initially sued the city of Waukegan in October 2019, accusing the authorities of not giving them a fair opportunity. After the Waukegan City Council rejected their proposal and accepted the ones from its three competitors, the tribe accused the process of being "rigged."
The initial three bidders were eventually narrowed down to just one winner, Las Vegas-based Full House Resorts, who plans to open a $400 million property called "American Place" by early 2026.
"Biased Decisions"
The tribe operates the Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which is one of the largest entertainment venues in the region, attracting six million visitors annually.
The lawsuit alleges that former Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham influenced the council's decision on which bids to approve. In a separate federal lawsuit, the Potawatomi tribe claims that Cunningham favored Michael Bond's unsuccessful proposal. Bond had donated significantly to Cunningham's campaign through his video gambling machine company, Tap Room Gaming.
The lawsuit also states that the city council based their decision partially on a flawed and inaccurate report, compiled by Johnson Consultants, which undervalued the tribe's contribution.
The report rated the Potawatomi proposal as first or second in every category except for the amount the tribe was prepared to pay for the land on which the casino would be built. The report claimed the tribe would pay $5.6 million for the parcel of land, the lowest among all the bidders. However, the tribe contends that they never quoted this figure and later submitted supplementary materials indicating that they were prepared to pay $12 million. These materials were not included in the Johnson Consultants report.
"Nuisance Lawsuit"
The city's lawyers have dismissed the complaint as a "nuisance lawsuit" that is "factually suspect".
But Illinois' First District Appellate Court decided that the lower court was wrong to dismiss the suit for lack of standing and ruled that the tribe should be given the chance to present their case.
"Potawatomi Casino pursued a significant business opportunity to fairly compete for a casino license, and where that opportunity was denied due to the city's alleged failure to perform the process lawfully, there is a distinct and palpable injury," wrote Justice Raymond Mitchell.
Mitchell added that it would be legal for the city to restart the tender process should the tribe's lawsuit succeed. This, despite the fact that a temporary license has already been awarded to Full House Resorts.
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Source: www.casino.org
