An effort to lure the Par-A-Dice Casino from East Peoria to Peoria was given a push forward Tuesday night when the Peoria City Council unanimously moved to hire pricy attorney and investment firm to help lead the relocation fight.
The move by Peoria is the first public action to take place in a battle between the two cities over the future of possible land-based casino gambling that has thus far occurred out of the public eye.
Peoria Mayor Rita Ali and East Peoria Mayor John Kahl exchanged a series of testy emails this summer over which city should be the future home of land-based casino gambling in the area.
Ali felt, according to emails, that East Peoria should honor a 1991 agreement signed between the two cities that dictated any land-based casino gaming would on Peoria’s side of the Illinois River.
More: ‘Forever strained’? Latest casino battle tests Peoria, East Peoria relationship
Peoria City Attorney Patrick Hayes said Tuesday night that the 1991 agreement was “straight forward” and “quite simple” in its dictation that any land-based casino must operate in Peoria — in yet another indication that the city has no plans to back down from its quest to bring the casino to its side of the river.
The council made clear Tuesday night it sits firmly behind Ali and her efforts to attract the casino.
In a unanimous decision with no debate, the council approved hiring Innovation Capital LLC and attorney John Elias to help Peoria craft a proposal to entice Boyd Gaming to build a land-based casino in the city. Hayes said their expertise was needed, and hiring them would show Boyd Gaming that Peoria was serious about a land-based casino.
City Councilman Tim Riggenbach gave Ali kudos for her “leadership” in working to bring a land-based casino to Peoria.
Hiring the firms will not be cheap, however.
Innovation Capital will be paid a minimum monthly retainer of $10,000 under the contract. Peoria will pay it another $250,000 if there is a development agreement that brings a land-based casino to Peoria.
The $10,000 monthly payment could be higher if the company’s billed hours exceed $10,000 a month. Innovation Capital’s managing directors command an hourly fee of $750. Its directors and vice presidents will be paid $500 per hour, and its analysts and associates will be paid $200 an hour for any casino-related work they do for Peoria.
Peoria will pay Elias, the attorney, $395 an hour.
The agreement with Innovation Capital has an initial expiration of six months, but Hayes said it could take a year or longer for the work to be completed, in which case, the deal could be extended.
Debate over future of gaming in the Peoria area
A debate surrounding the future of gambling in the Peoria area resurfaced early this year after Boyd Gaming signaled to the Illinois Gaming Board that it planned to build a new facility, offering a hint that it could be land-based.
That spurred officials from Peoria to go on the offensive and make sure that Boyd Gaming remembered the 1991 agreement that says any land-based casino must be built in Peoria.
Talks between Peoria and Boyd Gaming sparked a sharp response from Kahl, who felt that Peoria was overstepping its boundaries by attempting to lure Par-A-Dice to its side of the river.
Kahl said in an email to Ali this past summer that Peoria’s efforts to land a new casino facility threatened to “strain” the relationship between the two cities.
More: ‘David vs Goliath’: How East Peoria won the riverboat casino battle three decades ago
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria hires attorney and firm to help lure new casino to city