United States District Judge John F. Kness issued a summary judgement throwing out a five-year lawsuit filed by Waukegan Potawatomi Casino claiming discrimination by the City of Waukegan in the process used in selecting Full House Resorts to be its preferred casino operator in the northern Illinois city.

Kness issued his ruling last Friday on the grounds the corporation — fully owned by the Forest County Potawatomi Community of Wisconsin — has no standing to claim discrimination under the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Rights of the U.S. Constitution. Kness did not rule on Waukegan Potawatomi Casino’s claims the city violated state law regarding Open Meeting Act provisions of both the state of Illinois and the Illinois Gaming Board.

In his opinion, Kness noted the Plaintiff, operating as “a sovereign entity with openly sovereign interests, is not a ‘person’ entitled to bring a claim.” He also wrote that “no reasonable jury could find that Plaintiff was similarly situated to the other casino license applicants, and sufficient rational bases exist for the City’s decision not to certify Plaintiff.”

The Waukegan Potawatomi Casino was one of four groups that submitted a bid in 2019 for the city’s casino license, but the only one the city failed to move forward after an initial vote. After the city of Waukegan moved the three finalists forward, the Illinois Gaming Board voted Full House Resorts forward as the applicant for the casino license in December 2021.

“Potawatomi respectfully disagrees with the court’s ruling, which could significantly limit the ability of all 574 recognized tribes throughout the United States to pursue discrimination claims in federal court,” said Forest County Potawatomi spokesman George Ermert. “The federal court did not rule on the Potawatomi’s claim that Waukegan’s casino selection process did not comply with Illinois law, and the Tribe will continue to vigorously pursue its claim in court.”

Potawatomi still waiting on lawsuit at state level

The federal lawsuit is independent of the one filed by the Forest County Potawatomi Community of Wisconsin against the city and the IGB in 2019, claiming the eventual selection of Full House Resorts was a “rigged” process. That lawsuit was originally dismissed in December 2021 before a state appellate court reversed the dismissal last August, stating the tribe had legal standing. That case is waiting to be heard before the Illinois State Supreme Court.

Because of this lawsuit, Full House — which is not a party to it — has paused construction on its permanent venue. The Illinois General Assembly, recognizing the potential of the case to play out over an extended time frame, passed an amendment in last November’s veto session giving the IGB the power to “extend the period during which specified licensees may conduct gaming at a temporary facility by up to 30 months.”

The amendment was required because the IGB had previously given Full House Resorts a 12-month extension — something usually sought by casino licensees and granted by the state agency provided the licensee shows “good cause” — last June. Licensees are allowed to seek only one 12-month extension to the state law that requires them to open a permanent venue within two years of taking its first bets at a temporary one.

Full House opened its temporary casino — aptly named The Temporary — in February 2023. It has generated $85.1 million in casino revenue since opening, with the state collecting $12.8 million in taxes and local communities collecting nearly $5 million.

The Potawatomi Tribe has operated a casino in Milwaukee, approximately 60 miles north of Waukegan, since 1991. In between the two sites, the Menominee Tribe recently announced plans to open a $360 million casino with Hard Rock in Kenosha — approximately five miles north of the Wisconsion-Illinois border and 20 miles from The Temporary.

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