Bally's Chicago: Construction on the Bally’s site will begin on Thursday, May 15th
Construction on Bally’s Chicago casino is set to resume after a two-week halt imposed by the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) over the use of an unauthorized waste removal vendor linked to alleged organized crime ties.
The IGB on Wednesday announced it had lifted the stop-work order first issued on May 1, citing Bally’s failure to disclose that Melrose Park-based D&P Construction Co., Inc. had provided waste management services at the River West site where the $1.7 billion casino complex is being built.
The gaming board said the company has since resolved disclosure failures and committed to ongoing transparency regarding all vendors involved in the project.
“Presently, no vendors are working on the casino construction project without IGB approval,” the agency stated. “Bally’s addressed the disclosure failures. It has disclosed, and assured the ongoing disclosure of, all proposed vendors to the IGB.”
Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim confirmed the restart date, stating: “We were informed today by IGB that construction on the Bally’s site will begin on Thursday, May 15th. We appreciate the collaboration and support of IGB throughout this process and look forward to delivering this project to Chicago.”
The initial halt followed questions raised by the Chicago Sun-Times regarding the use of dumpsters supplied by D&P Construction. The company had not been disclosed to the IGB, as required under Illinois regulations, and has been previously flagged by state authorities for its alleged links to organized crime.
D&P’s presence at the site prompted comparisons to past cases in which Illinois casinos were fined or denied licenses over similar issues, including a $3.2 million penalty levied against Elgin’s Grand Victoria Casino and the collapse of the Emerald Casino project in Rosemont.
D&P dumpsters were removed from the site on May 2, and Bally’s has since taken steps to improve its vendor vetting process under IGB supervision. The board emphasized that “Bally’s is cooperating with the investigation,” and added that the matter remains under review.
Despite the delay, Bally’s retains its license to develop what will become Illinois' largest casino complex. The permanent facility, located on the former site of the Chicago Tribune printing plant, is expected to feature a 500-room hotel, a 3,000-seat theater, an exhibition hall, 10 restaurants, and 4,000 gaming positions. The casino company began foundational work earlier this year and is targeting a September 2026 opening.
Bally’s was selected for the project in May 2022, surpassing rival bids from Rivers Casino and Hard Rock. In the interim, it has been operating a temporary casino at the Medinah Temple in River North since September 2023, which generated $11 million in adjusted gross receipts last month, placing it fifth among the state’s 16 full-service casinos.
Rivers Casino Des Plaines led the state with $43.9 million in adjusted revenue for April, followed by Wind Creek Chicago Southland, which recently opened a permanent facility and posted $17.1 million. Wind Creek is owned by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians and recently added a 255-room hotel to its operations.
https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2025/05/15/104854-ballys-chicago-casino-construction-resumes-following-state-halt-over-undisclosed-vendor