The Bally’s Chicago casino project is on hold as the Illinois Gaming Board is investigating the subcontracting of a waste removal service with alleged connections to organized crime. The use of an authorized supplier represents a violation of the rules governing gambling licensees. Although Bally’s has apparently stopped using the contractor, the potential violation has led to a stop-work order and an investigation that may push back the project’s timeline to completion.
It’s the second delay since work at the site of the former Tribune publishing plant began. The cumulative effect could call into question the casino’s ability to open as planned in fall 2026. The delay could be extended if the investigation reveals other use of unauthorized suppliers.
Bally’s construction halts amid regulator investigation
According to Mitchell Armentrout and Robert Herguth of the Chicago Sun-Times, it was that publication’s reporting that brought the waste removal service violation to the attention of the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB). Armentrout and Herguth report that the waste removal service involved, D&P Construction, has been linked to the DiFronzo brothers, who were connected to organized crime in Chicago before their deaths in 2018 and 2020.
A spokesperson for the IGB shared that “IGB regulations require full disclosure and IGB prior approval for Bally’s Chicago Casino’s construction plans” and those mandates “extend to all contractors and vendors (including subcontractors).” Additionally, state law levies penalties for gaming licensees that associate “with, either socially or in business affairs, or employing persons of notorious or unsavory reputation or who have extensive police records, or who have failed to cooperate with any officially constituted investigatory or administrative body and would adversely affect public confidence and trust in gaming.”
Armentrout and Herguth add that the IGB has no timeline for the conclusion of its investigation into Bally’s construction, only clarifying that the inquiry is “to determine the extent to which other undisclosed or unapproved vendors could be performing work on this project, and to investigate both the facts surrounding D&P Construction Co. Inc.’s (D&P) work and Bally’s Chicago Casino’s involvement in the failure to disclose D&P.” Fines are possible for Bally’s as a result of the inspection.
Each day that passes with work on the site halted is one fewer that Bally’s has to complete the project before its previously announced target of opening during the fall of 2026. This isn’t the first time during which an air of uncertainty plagued the permanent Bally’s Chicago casino.
Development of permanent casino has seen numerous snags
Since construction on the former Freedom Center began in August 2024, multiple issues have surfaced. One of them was also related to the casino’s construction, as the collapse of a wall in December 2024 resulted in the release of non-contaminating perlite into the Chicago River. Demolition at the site paused for several days as cleanup was ongoing.
Another snag has not caused a construction delay, but did cause Bally’s to change course in a significant way. In its contract with the City of Chicago, Bally’s committed to 25% of the casino’s interest to be controlled by women and people representing ethnic/racial minorities.
To satisfy that requirement, Bally’s intended to offer shares of the casino to people in the city who fit those descriptions. However, Bally’s altered that offering in April after it became the target of a federal lawsuit.
As the construction delay continues, Bally’s will have time to focus its Chicago efforts on finding ways to satisfy that commitment to minority representation. Moving forward, the IGB could be more watchful of the proceedings at Bally’s site in Chicago, too.
