The City of Peoria is heading to court with its effort to block a proposed $160 million redevelopment of the Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino property in East Peoria.
Peoria has filed a lawsuit against Nevada-based Boyd Gaming and the Par-A-Dice Gaming Corporation, as well as the Illinois Gaming Board and the City of East Peoria.
The city contends the casino proposal goes against a 1991 intergovernmental agreement between Peoria and East Peoria that requires any land-based casino operations in the region to be built in Peoria.
“We think that the redevelopment plan, as presented by Boyd to the gaming board in December, doesn’t comply with the Illinois Gaming Act or the intergovernmental agreement, because it clearly exhibits a land-based casino being located in East Peoria,” said Peoria City Manager Patrick Urich.
Boyd’s plans call for an expanded gambling facility that would be build on the existing casino property in East Peoria. The casino would be built over a basin of water drawn from the Illinois River in what the company has termed a “riverboat modernization.”
“There’s language in the gaming act that was amended in 2019 that makes it clear that a riverboat casino, or a permanently moored barge, has to be on the Illinois River. And we don’t believe that that is on the Illinois River,” said Urich.
“We don’t believe that under Illinois law, that the gaming board has the authority to approve a casino designed in such a fashion.”
Peoria contends the plan violates Illinois law pertaining to gaming licenses and a 1991 intergovernmental agreement between the city and East Peoria that requires any land-based casino operations in the region be built in Peoria.
The lawsuit filed in Cook County aims to block the Illinois Gaming Board from approving the Par-A-Dice plans at its meeting scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday.
Urich says a city has submitted a request for a temporary restraining order that will go before a judge on Feb. 13. He said the parties have agreed to put a stay on any decision made by the gaming board.
A split Peoria City Council on Monday rejected a settlement proposal that would’ve seen Boyd agree to pay 2.25% of the casino’s reported adjusted gross revenue annually, estimated at around $1.8 million.
During the East Peoria City Council meeting Tuesday, Mayor John Kahl said the city would not comment on pending legal matters.
