Glenn Davis and Charles Insler’s legal advocacy provided a win for the City of Waukegan (Illinois) in a long and hard-fought casino licensing case. Recently, the Illinois Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Potawatomi Casino did not have standing to appeal the Illinois Gaming Board’s decision to choose another applicant to operate a casino in Waukegan.

As previously reported here, the case began in October 2019, after the Waukegan City Council declined to forward the application of Waukegan Potawatomi Casino LLC to the Gaming Board. With that denial, the Potawatomi Casino filed suit, asserting claims under 42 U.S.C. §1983, the Illinois Gambling Act, and the Open Meetings Act. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted the City’s motion for summary judgment, holding: (1) Plaintiff Potawatomi Casino LLC was not a “person” under §1983 because it was an arm of the Potawatomi Tribe (a sovereign entity); and (2) even if the Plaintiff was a “person” within the meaning of the statute, it had failed to establish an Equal Protection violation as a matter of law. That case remains pending before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Meanwhile, on November 15, 2021, the Illinois Gaming Board posted its agenda for a hearing on the preliminary suitability of the successful bidder for the City’s license. On November 16, 2021, the Potawatomi filed for an injunction against the City and the Gaming Board to try to block advancement of the competitive proposal. Following a hearing, the Cook County Circuit Court refused to enjoin the defendants, and the Illinois Appellate court rejected an interlocutory appeal. Thereafter, Waukegan sought and obtained summary judgment.

The Casino appealed that decision, arguing that the City had irrationally discriminated against it. The appellate court reversed the Circuit Court’s decision and remanded the case for further proceedings. Both the City and the Gaming Board appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court. In its recent ruling in favor of the City, the Supreme Court found the Potawatomi did not have a vested right to be accepted and certified and ruled that it lacked standing to bring its suit against the City and the Gaming Board. The Court also ruled that the Casino had no statutory authority to allow the Gaming Board to revoke an owner’s license based on a municipality’s noncompliance.

Davis and Insler handled these cases from their inception, defending the City in the original District Court case through the entire appellate process, including getting the Illinois Supreme Court to accept it for discretionary review and obtaining the favorable ruling. As a result, construction can begin on the $400 million casino development for the City of Waukegan. The ruling also saves the City from the expensive dual threats of having to potentially re-do the casino certification process and losing an interested and proven developer for the project.

Both HeplerBroom attorneys are partners in the firm’s St. Louis office and concentrate their practices on complex commercial litigation and business counseling, including the defense of governmental and civil rights matters, as well as cybersecurity, antitrust, and securities litigation. Both attorneys have been named to the list of Best Lawyers in America. Davis is also rated an AV Preeminent Attorney by Martindale-Hubbell and is a multi-year and multi-category recipient of Best Lawyers’ Lawyer of the Year award.