CHICAGO - Facing pressure to approve a new tribal casino in southeastern Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker said his administration is proceeding cautiously in its ongoing review because concerns that the state could lose $100 million in payments from nearby tribal casinos.
The Menominee tribe wants to build a casino in Kenosha, but the project is opposed by the Ho-Chunk and Forest County Potawatomi tribes, both of which operate existing casinos nearby.
Kenosha supporters have escalated pressure on Walker to complete his review and sign off on the project, which won the approval of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs last year after a nine-year review.
On Wednesday, a group of Democratic assembly members and senators, local leaders, and labor representatives pressed Walker on the issue, citing the positive economic benefits of the project.
Supporters contend the $800 million project would generate thousands of temporary and permanent jobs. The Walker administration has an economic impact study underway.
"The local support for this casino is steadfast throughout Kenosha and Racine," said state Sen. Bob Wirch, D-Kenosha. "Our constituents need and want the jobs that would be created by the casino, as well as the economic stimulus it would provide. After 10 years of consideration, it is clear the casino should be approved."
Walker on Wednesday warned the state faces a potential loss of $100 million that would create a "sizable hole" in the state's budget due to no-compete provisions in the current tribal compacts.
"We're going to take as long as we can legally take" to ensure the state doesn't lose funds, Walker said Wednesday, taking a jab at his Democratic predecessor Jim Doyle and the current compacts his administration negotiated with the tribes. "What we're trying to do is walk through the landmines that Jim Doyle's compacts put in place."
The Forest County Potawatomi this week increased pressure on the governor by withholding a $25 million payment owed to the state under the compacts. Spokesman George Ermert said the tribe may be entitled to a reduction or refund of payments to the state "should the state approve another casino within 50 miles of the Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in Milwaukee" under terms of its compact. The funds were placed in a reserve account.
