Chicago Area Local News

CHICAGO (AP) ― Billionaire Chicago developer Neil Bluhm's name won't be on the casino his company just won the license to build in suburban Des Plaines, but his moniker is well known.

His name is on the Bluhm Legal Clinic at Northwestern University's law school after a $7 million gift from the 1962 alumnus, and it's on the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Building a 50,000-square-foot casino in a suburb near O'Hare International Airport is just the 70-year-old philanthropist businessman's latest foray in the gambling business.

"We're obviously thrilled that we are selected," Bluhm said earlier this week.

Bluhm wasn't the highest bidder, but his Midwest Gaming was picked Monday over two finalists as the winner of the state's unused 10th casino license that has been mired for years in legal and administrative disputes.

His group got the blessing of the Illinois Gaming Board after ethical concerns were raised about the bids from the other finalists, Waukegan Gaming and Trilliant Gaming.

A gaming board analysis said some people associated with Waukegan Gaming had "questionable associations and business dealings." Spoiling Trilliant's bid was its plan to build in Rosemont, a Chicago suburb tainted by alleged mob connections that have again cost it a casino project.

Midwest Gaming didn't have those problems.

"No derogatory information has been discovered thus far that would call into question the character or reputation of the Trilliant Gaming team or the principals of Midwest Gaming," gaming board staff wrote in its analysis of the three license bidders.

The gaming board staff also noted it hadn't found any recent contributions to the Des Plaines mayor from Midwest Gaming sources like they had uncovered to the Waukegan mayor from Waukegan Gaming sources.

"I think we did a good job in the beginning making sure we had a good developer," Des Plaines Mayor Tony Arredia said.

Although Midwest Gaming has been picked to get the license, the scrutiny of Bluhm, his company and his Des Plaines casino proposal is nowhere near over.

An even more arduous review process will ensue as the gaming board completes its final due diligence and vetting, a process that could take up to a year.

And that has one gaming board member, the Rev. Eugene Winkler, throwing tough talk at Bluhm, calling his company "the most difficult to deal with."

"The arrogance of Midwest Gaming is palpable. Mr. Bluhm is a smart businessman, but he also wants everything done his way," said Winkler, who declined to vote for any of the three finalists, saying each was "unacceptable" in their own way.

Midwest Gaming has offered a $125 million upfront fee and an additional $300 million to be paid at about $10 million per year over 30 years.

In their analysis, gaming board staff said they believed Midwest Gaming could meet the financial obligations of its bid.

The gaming board didn't elaborate publicly on what business dealings Waukegan Gaming had that were troublesome, but there was a connection to a federal investigation of corruption in state government.

Waukegan Gaming managing partner Ed Duffy has told the gaming board that Springfield powerbroker William Cellini had sold his ownership interest in a predecessor company that wanted to open a Waukegan casino.

Cellini, who Duffy said had sold his interest about 18 months ago, has been charged with plotting to squeeze a firm seeking business with the state for a $1.5 million campaign contribution to Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

The gaming board also said Waukegan Gaming's bid was financially inferior to the other finalists.

Losing the casino license was a stinging defeat for Waukegan, a city just south of the Wisconsin border that is struggling to redevelop itself after losing industry and jobs.

Giving the license to Bluhm's company puts Illinois' next casino in the largely white suburb of Des Plaines, a city of about 57,000 people where the median household income is about $57,000, which is higher than the U.S. average, according to U.S. Census data.

Bluhm companies are developers, owners or managers of five casino projects in Canada, Mississippi and Pennsylvania.

His two Pennsylvania projects aren't finished yet.

An investment group led by Bluhm took control this year of the Rivers Casino project in Pittsburgh after the original license holder couldn't get funding for the $780 million deal. It is expected to open next year.

A company headed by Bluhm also won one of the licenses set aside for two casino projects in Philadelphia, but opposition over location has contributed to delays for those projects.

Jim Blue, who's part an antigambling expansion group, is unhappy a casino is coming to Des Plaines. He doubts casino revenues will be a reliable source of money and his group is opposed on moral grounds as well.

"I'm disappointed and frustrated," he said after the gaming board's decision.

(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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