By Gianna Njau and Lizzie Seils
PEORIA, Ill. (25 News) – The City of Peoria is asking a judge to stop an upcoming vote from the Illinois Gaming Board as it mulls whether to allow a proposed land-based casino in East Peoria.
In a 272-page suit released Tuesday, attorneys for the City of Peoria alleged it would lose out on substantial tax revenue and other development opportunities if the project moves forward.
Attorneys for Peoria are asking for a temporary restraining order to halt the Illinois Gaming Board’s vote on the proposed East Peoria plan that is scheduled for Feb. 5.
“They argued the proposed land-based facility would be built as a green, sustainability-certified building. It is certainly not a moored barge or a riverboat. We believe that, for all intents and purposes, it is simply a building,” said Patrick Urich, Peoria city manager.
The legal action comes after the Peoria City Council rejected a proposed settlement that would have paid the city $1.8 million per year.
Boyd Gaming plans to build a $160 million, 29,000 square foot facility about 150 yards from the Illinois River on the East Peoria side. To fulfill the requirement that an East Peoria casino be on the Illinois River, the proposal includes pumping 1,000 gallons of river water under the floor.
In its suit, Peoria attorneys call that plan a “gimmick,” and “ludicrous.”
“The math shows that 1,000 gallons of water spread under a 29,000 square foot area (like the casino floor) means that the water is 1.4 millimeters thick,” the suit read. “The court can take judicial notice that a dime is 1.35 millimeters thick. This means the layer of water Boyd would put under the casino floor is as thin as a dime.”
The City of Peoria argued the damage would be irreparable in terms of lost tax revenue and further development.
“If the Par-A-Dice Riverboat is allowed to relocate to the land-based location set forth in Boyd’s proposal, Peoria will forever lose its position as the sole and future home of land-based gambling in the Peoria region,” the suit read.
“Such losses include not only lost taxes and revenue that would flow from the casino (gambling taxes, as well as hotel, restaurant, property and sales taxes), but also lost employment opportunities and income for its citizens, lost tourism that would benefit local business and further resulting lost tax revenue flowing from these other diminished opportunities,” it continued.
In 1991, Peoria and East Peoria agreed to split profits on a riverboat casino, with the understanding that the casino would move to Peoria’s side of the river if the operation ever went on land.
In March 2024, Boyd Gaming, the parent company of Par-A-Dice Casino, renewed its license with the Illinois Gaming Board and shared its plans to “modernize” the facility.
The City of Peoria claimed in the suit that they wrote multiple letters to Boyd Gaming, East Peoria, and the Illinois Gaming Board seeking more information and reasserting the agreement to put a land-based casino in Peoria.
In its arguments, Peoria cited the Illinois Gambling Act and the intergovernmental agreement between East Peoria, Peoria, and Boyd Gaming, parent company of Par-A-Dice Casino.
Both the intergovernmental agreement and state law state that a land-based casino must be in the City of Peoria.
Illinois lawmakers passed the Illinois Riverboat Gaming Act, now known as the Illinois Gaming Act, in 1990, which authorized riverboat gambling on any navigable stream. The law was expanded to allow gambling on any water in 1999.
In 2019, the Illinois Gaming Act was amended again, codifying the agreement between Peoria and East Peoria.
“One other license shall authorize riverboat gambling on the Illinois River in the City of East Peoria or, with Board approval, shall authorize land-based gambling operations anywhere within the corporate limits of the City of Peoria,” the law reads, as quoted in the lawsuit.
The East Peoria City Council was asked about the lawsuit at its regular meeting Tuesday night. Mayor John Kahl said the City would not comment at this time.
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