Bally’s Corporation has made further progress with its project to open a casino in Chicago after it secured a multi-project labour agreement with the Chicago & Cook County Building & Construction Trades Council and AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department.
Building Chicago’s first brick-and-mortar casino, Bally’s Chicago is a $1.7bn proposal that will feature 3,400 slots, 170 table games, 10 food and beverage venues and 500 hotel rooms.
“At Bally’s, we believe our company should reflect the community,” said Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim. “This PLA is a demonstration of our commitment to embrace organised labour that has played such a key role in building the great city of Chicago.
“This is the first step of a project that will be built by Chicago, for Chicago, and help the city keep its promises to the police and fire pensions.”
“We are also committed to inclusivity and our partnerships with the CCBT, Chicago Federation of Labor, and Hire360 will ensure our workforce will reflect the rich diversity of the city.”
The casino aims to show off the ‘best of Chicago’, offering arts and culture, food and sports, and curated dining and entertainment experiences.
Located on the 30-acre Chicago Tribune Publishing Center at the intersection of Chicago Avenue and Halstead Street, the casino will be built by locally organised and minority led workers following the agreements put in place.
“BCTC is proud to stand with Bally’s Chicago in this historic building of the first and only casino in the City of Chicago,” said CCBT President Michael Macellaio. “With this agreement, Bally’s shows that it understands the importance of good-paying jobs in our city and the dignity of our hard-working people.”
Bally’s has already detailed its support to diversity through the Chicago casino project, working with the minority-led construction minority firm, Chicago Community Builder’s Collective, which has been enlisted to help with the building work.
Further, it has formed a diverse minority investor group with 25 per cent ownership in Bally’s Chicago.
“We appreciate that Bally’s holds itself to a higher standard when it comes to employment,” concluded Bob Reiter, President of the Chicago Federation of Labor. “Our mission is to strengthen the participation of underrepresented populations—with a special focus on engaging youth to consider the trades as a viable and inspiring career path—and Bally’s has proven to take that very seriously.”
