Governor Walker delays decision regarding Kenosha casino
KENOSHA (WITI) -- FOX6 News has learned that Governor Scott Walker will not be making a final decision regarding the proposed Hard Rock Casino project in Kenosha on Friday, October 25th. Gov. Walker says he will not make a decision until next week -- claiming he needs more time to review the information given to him by the Menominee Tribe.
"I sat down with them for a lengthy meeting on Wednesday morning. We found the tentative deadline we set for today is not practical," said Gov. Walker. "I'm under, legally, under no immediate timeline as governor. I could take a year to a year and a half on this. I'm not planning on doing that."
The Menominee Tribe had an 11th hour final meeting with Gov. Walker on Wednesday, October 23rd. Job creation was part of the final pitch, however, one political expert says jobs likely has no weight in a final decision.
“He’s probably going to argue that this was not an economic development decision, this is not a job decision,” said Mordecai Lee, Professor of Governmental Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Lee says the governor is sticking to his criteria he set a long time ago. It includes no new net gaming, support from the Kenosha community and consensus among all of Wisconsin’s eleven tribes.
“I think Gov. Walker showed some real strategic thinking when early on when he had criteria. He had sort of policy decision principals. And that has really served him well,” said Lee.
Gov. Walker’s decision on the casino proposal most likely hinges on the final element of his criteria — consensus among the tribes. But so far, the Potawatomi and Ho-Chunk Tribes are not on board with the plan.
The Menominee Tribe argues all tribes in Wisconsin, including the two opposed, entered into what is essentially a gaming contract with the state a decade ago. By doing so, the Menominee feel, regardless of what the tribes say now, they agreed to be on board.
Menominee Tribal Chairman Craig Corn released the following statement:
Today, Governor Walker says he is continuing to deliberate on all the facts before making his decision on the proposal from the Menominee Tribe and Hard Rock International to build a destination resort and casino in Kenosha. We respect the Governor’s decision and we are grateful for his leadership on this matter.
From the very beginning of this long process, we have sought to help everyone understand how important this project will be to the people of the Menominee Tribe, as well as those living in Kenosha. We seek to help our members be lifted out of poverty and have the opportunity to build a better life for themselves. In the process we will create jobs and strengthen the local economy while attracting tourists and other visitors to our state.
We look forward to continuing our work with Governor Walker, Secretary Mike Huebsch and their team while forthrightly answering all of their questions. We remain confident that we will help everyone understand how the Menominee Hard Rock Casino in Kenosha is a WIN for the tribe, a WIN for Kenosha and a WIN for the State of Wisconsin.
Enough Already! WI, a coalition opposed to the expansion of off-reservation gaming, issued the following statement regarding the decision delay:
It is not surprising that the Governor needs more time to make the right decision considering the myriad of oft-confusing and contradictory information provided by the Menominee Tribe regarding their desired off-reservation casino in Kenosha. In the end, what is true today will be true looking ahead, the Menominee Tribe can't meet the Governor's criteria.
Oft-ignored is that an off-reservation casino in Kenosha expands gaming in Wisconsin, adding over 3,000 electronic gaming machines and nearly 100 table games, clearly an expansion of gaming which violates one of the Governor's three criteria.
In addition, Potawatomi spokesman Ken Walsh released a statement saying:
This Kenosha casino application is associated with the corruption and will end up sending hundreds of millions of dollars to out-of-state gambling interests at the expense of Milwaukee jobs.
The Potawatomi cannot support this Kenosha casino application and that position will not change.
While the Potawatomi are disappointed in the delay of the Governor's decision it is certainly well within the Governor's discretion to delay a decision.
At the earliest, Gov. Walker now expects to make a decision some time next week.