Chicago will get its first-ever casino as city council members approved an agreement with Bally’s to build a $1.7B development in the city’s River West neighborhood. By a 41-7 vote Wednesday afternoon, aldermen approved Bally’s proposed casino complex on the former Tribune Publishing site as well as a temporary casino at the vacant Medinah Temple, a former Bloomingdale’s store at 600 North Wabash Ave., until the larger project is complete in 2026. Council members cited high-paying jobs and benefits, a commitment to labor and lifting up socioeconomically disadvantaged residents, and the chance to stabilize city finances by shoring up pension funds in their approval. 
“The bottom line of this is, this is about revenue,” said Alderman Jason Ervin, who represents the city’s 28th Ward. “Cars don’t run on hopes and prayers …Government, too. We have obligations we need to meet, and that number does not decrease as time moves forward.”Under the agreement,…  Read the full story here. | 
