RIVER WEST — Construction on Bally’s River West casino has resumed after a forced pause this month brought on by an investigation that revealed the project was using an unauthorized subcontractor previously linked to organized crime.
D&P Construction, a Melrose Park company that the FBI alleged had ties to the Chicago mob, was providing dumpsters at the casino site, the Sun-Times found. After questions from the newspaper, the Illinois Gaming Board forced construction to stop.
D&P Construction was subcontracted by the Chicago Community Builders Collective, a minority-led general contracting group working on Bally’s $1.7 billion permanent casino on the site of the former Tribune printing plant.
The Illinois Gaming Board issued the stop-work order pending an investigation into the “use of undisclosed and unapproved vendors at the construction site.” The gaming board confirmed that Bally’s was cooperating with the investigation, and the company told Block Club it was working with the regulating agency to “eliminate the possibility of it happening again.”
On Thursday, the Illinois Gaming Board confirmed that construction was approved to resume at Bally’s but did not say what kind of penalties, if any, would be given.
Beth Kaufman, director of communications for the gaming board, said in a statement Thursday that “no vendors are working on the casino construction project without IGB approval.”
“Bally’s addressed the disclosure failures. It has disclosed, and assured the ongoing disclosure of, all proposed vendors to the [Illinois Gaming Board]. Bally’s is cooperating with the investigation,” Kaufman said. “With IGB direction and oversight, Bally’s is implementing required improvements to its vendor and contractor compliance processes and protocols along with additional steps to enhance monitoring, supervision and surveillance at the construction site.”
The Illinois Gaming Board did not confirm if D&P Construction was still being used onsite.
A Bally’s spokesperson confirmed that work would resume after receiving permission from the gaming board and added that its investigation was ongoing.
“We were informed yesterday by [the Illinois Gaming Board] 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,” Bally’s spokesperson Lauren Westerfield said in an email.
Bally’s won Chicago’s casino bid in 2022 after then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot selected the company over several competitors. Bally’s proposal included the highest projected annual payout for the city: nearly $200 million, along with a $40 million upfront payment and $4 million in annual payments.
The casino, meant to beef up funding for the city’s police and fire pensions, is slated to include 3,300 slots, 173 table games, 500 hotel rooms, a 3,000-seat entertainment venue, 2-acre public park, six restaurants, a food hall and three bars.
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