It was no surprise, just an expected spot of bad news for Tribune Publishing workers, when Bally’s issued an official notice of relocation to the printing plant several weeks ago.
The Rhode Island-based casino company plans to demolish the Freedom Center — where the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times are currently printed and where the Tribune newsroom is located — to build Chicago’s first casino.
Bally’s original casino plan was selected from among several by the Chicago City Council in May 2022. The vote was followed by the passage of an ordinance to amend the city’s laws to allow casino gaming. Bally’s $1.74B complex will include a 500-room hotel, a 3,000-seat theater, 11 restaurants, and 4,000 gaming positions.
While a casino in the heart of the city would provide thousands of jobs for local residents — as well as help recoup a significant portion of the hundreds of millions of dollars, Chicago residents gamble in nearby Indiana casinos each year — displacing a major newspaper publishing operation is a public relations problem.
The Rhode Island-based casino company plans to demolish the Freedom Center — where the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times are currently printed and where the Tribune newsroom is located — to build Chicago’s first casino.
Bally’s original casino plan was selected from among several by the Chicago City Council in May 2022. The vote was followed by the passage of an ordinance to amend the city’s laws to allow casino gaming. Bally’s $1.74B complex will include a 500-room hotel, a 3,000-seat theater, 11 restaurants, and 4,000 gaming positions.
While a casino in the heart of the city would provide thousands of jobs for local residents — as well as help recoup a significant portion of the hundreds of millions of dollars, Chicago residents gamble in nearby Indiana casinos each year — displacing a major newspaper publishing operation is a public relations problem.