HR0710 LRB094 15026 AJO 50148 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The Menominee tribe has proposed a casino in
3 Kenosha, Wisconsin, that will be an $808 million facility with
4 3,200 gambling positions; and
 
5     WHEREAS, A large portion of the casino's customers will be
6 Lake County residents, but all of the tax revenue, jobs, and
7 other benefits from the casino will inure to the benefit of
8 Kenosha, Kenosha County, and Wisconsin; and
 
9     WHEREAS, The Menominee have indicated that they will
10 employ, on a priority basis, Kenosha and Southeastern Wisconsin
11 citizens, leaving out hard-working Illinois residents; and
 
12     WHEREAS, The social costs from problem gambling will fall
13 very heavily on those Illinois communities closest to the
14 casino, but no funds will be made available to the State of
15 Illinois or local governments in Illinois to address the impact
16 of problem gambling; the result will be that Illinois citizens
17 will be compelled to pay for problems caused by a Wisconsin
18 casino; and
 
19     WHEREAS, The Menominee Tribe expects gamblers at the
20 casino, most of whom will be from Illinois, to lose over $400
21 million a year; and
 
22     WHEREAS, When Illinois citizens gamble with their
23 discretionary dollars, they will have less money to spend on
24 dining, entertainment, shopping, and sporting events in Lake
25 County and elsewhere in Illinois; this casino will adversely
26 affect the livelihood of countless small businesses in
27 Illinois; and
 
28     WHEREAS, The casino project will greatly increase traffic
29 on our already heavily traveled Illinois roads; this will have

 

 

HR0710 - 2 - LRB094 15026 AJO 50148 r

1 the greatest adverse affect on the environment of Lake County
2 through increased air emissions and water runoff; and
 
3     WHEREAS, While these impacts will undoubtedly take place,
4 the Bureau of Indian Affairs chose first in its scoping
5 document and in its Draft Environmental Impact Statement to
6 totally ignore these serious negative impacts on the Illinois
7 communities near the casino; in fact, the Draft Environmental
8 Impact Statement does not even discuss these negative impacts;
9 not only is this wrong, but this approach violates the Bureau
10 of Indian Affair's own policies; and
 
11      WHEREAS, Under Part 2 of the Bureau of Indian Affair's
12 Checklist for Gaming Acquisitions (Section 20(b)(1)(A), found
13 at page 7, issued in March of 2005), units of local government
14 located within 10 miles of the proposed gaming establishment
15 are to be included in the analysis of significant detriments
16 that may be incurred by local governments; Lake County and many
17 of its communities are a mere 6 miles from the site of the
18 proposed Menominee Casino; therefore, be it
 
19     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
20 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
21 the members of the House of Representatives respectfully urge
22 that the Menominee Draft Environmental Impact Statement be
23 revised to include northern Illinois and that a public hearing
24 be held in Illinois to assess the impact on Illinois of this
25 proposed project; and be it further
 
26     RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
27 presented to the Menominee Tribe, the members of the Illinois
28 Congressional Delegation, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs as
29 an expression of our concerns.