BREAKING: Walker Rejects Kenosha Casino

by Lisa Kaiser

Jan. 23, 2015

4:54 p.m.

This just in: Scott Walker has rejected the Menomonee Nation's proposal to build a casino in Kenosha.

Not surprisingly, he's blaming the compacts negotiated with then-Gov. Jim Doyle.

Here's the official statement:

Governor Scott Walker Announces Non-Concurrence with Bureau of Indian Affairs on Kenosha Casino

Friday, January 23, 2015 - Press Release

Madison – Today, Governor Scott Walker informed the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) at the Department of Interior (DOI) of his non-concurrence with their determination on the proposed casino project.

“After a comprehensive review of the potential economic impact of the proposed Kenosha casino project, the risk to the state’s taxpayers is too great,” said Governor Walker. “Due to the compacts negotiated by Governor Doyle, the current cost to taxpayers of approving the proposed casino project is up to $100 million and the long-term economic hit to the state budget would be a potential loss of hundreds of millions of dollars.”

“We have had tremendous success in helping grow quality, family-supporting jobs in Kenosha, including the recent Amazon, InSinkErator, and Meijer Distribution Inc. expansions,” continued Governor Walker. “We remain committed to using state resources effectively to continue growing the economy and creating jobs in Kenosha and around the state.”

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The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs took more than nine years to review the proposed casino project. For over a year, Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch conducted a comprehensive economic analysis of the potential impact of the proposed casino project. In an ideal scenario, jobs could have been created by the casino, the reality of Governor Doyle’s compacts with the tribes open the State of Wisconsin up to significant litigation risk, which would put state taxpayers on the hook for up to hundreds of millions of dollars.

Secretary Huebsch outlined the potential litigation risk in a recent memo to Governor Walker, which can be found here.

In a report to Governor Walker, Secretary Huebsch explained the outstanding issues facing the proposed casino, which could have a devastating impact on the state budget:

Although the Kenosha casino could result in these positive economic benefits, approval also comes with substantial and significant risks. Our analysis shows taxpayers could lose out on hundreds of millions of dollars of tribal revenue sharing payments as a result of the compact negotiated by Governor Jim Doyle. Due to the legal exposure created by the Doyle compacts, beyond just losing future revenue, approving the Kenosha casino could require taxpayers to pay FCPC [Forest County Potawatomi Community] hundreds of millions of dollars in refunds of previous payments made to the State. If the Kenosha casino is approved, there are a number of other issues that should be considered:

· the impact of possible expanded gaming in northern Illinois;

· the Menominee’s use of more than 220 acres that would likely be put in trust;

· the cost of litigation;

· the consequences of a delayed casino opening;

· the immediate and long-term impact on our state budget and consequently Wisconsin taxpayers; and,

· the cost of indemnifying FCPC.

The entire report from Secretary Huebsch can be found here.

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Comments (5)

Comment Feed

Government does not CREATE jobs, but they can ATTR...

Government does not CREATE jobs, but they can ATTRACT jobs.Let's look at some Wisconsin GOP goals all wrapped up.Dropping taxes to zero, ending entitlements, and deporting non-workers and non-taxpayers (code-speak that covers non-whites when "right to deny opportunity" is carried out their way) is not going to be enough to preserve the "good" gun-toting Republican life.We will still need to have Mexican and Chinese jobs brought back home, PLUS have the OTHER states made rich enough to afford buying what we make in our high-wage jobs. Yes, I said it, the other states need to be paid BETTER than us in order for us to become the "low cost supplier" in comparison to them.Do you honestly think that when Walker becomes president, that he and his first lady are going to order the other states to buy Wisconsin products from us, pooling their lower wages to buy Wisconsin products made at our higher wages? Do you think the Congress will go for that when it has only 10 Wisconsin politicians against 543 non-Wisconsin politicians? (100 Senate + 453 HR)

WaukeshaGuy more than 9 years ago

The Potawatomi negotiated a very good contract wit...

The Potawatomi negotiated a very good contract with Governor Doyle. They didn't want to invest close to $1 billion dollars on a casino and hotel without a guarantee that another casino would be built in Kenosha. If they couldn't get that guarantee, they probably wouldn't have invested so much money in Milwaukee. Very, very smart on their part.And "Bald Spot Walker" spends the past 24 hours demonizing Governor Doyle. Go jump in a freezing river, Walker. I pray that Walker never comes back from Iowa.

moochy more than 9 years ago

Even though crafted by a Democrat instead of a Rep...

Even though crafted by a Democrat instead of a Republican, it still points out the "problem" in both Private enterprise and Public government. When the big players set up an "exclusive deal" that often is seen as blocking other businesses, both large outside ones that may hurt us and small ones started within by us.There are 2 kinds of "good" people. There are the obvious many that just do our job, do not bother anybody else, just "work to live" our paycheck to paycheck life. It's a big world, "out there" is too far away to affect us, we do not need or care to know about anybody else. But what we do need is "a job working for somebody else", someone who brings in money from "out there". This results in our idea of "only the wealthy create jobs, give them what they want", but even they depend on having lots of "paying customers" from "out there".

WaukeshaGuy more than 9 years ago

If there is actually a "turf" that says Kenosha be...

If there is actually a "turf" that says Kenosha belongs to the Potawatomi, then maybe the Potatwatomi can build and operate the Kenosha casino as a 2nd site. The whole idea should be to create jobs for Kenosha people that makes money from non-Wisconsinites coming in to gamble or see the shows.Besides, I can see another point that I learned from watching Pick-and-Save near the Bayshore Mall. I noticed that they picked up the Jewell store at Silver Spring and Green Bay, then built the store at Green Tree and I-43, a little over a mile away. The big difference I noticed was that in the Silver Spring store, a good portion of both the customers and store workers were black, but in the Green Tree store, the customers were almost all white, and the only blacks seen were among the workers. -- I am not saying that this was racist, but I DO know that many of your paying white customers ARE racist, not so much against interacting with blacks in service jobs but more so against dealing with blacks as fellow clients and customers. Sorry, I do NOT give SE Wisconsin kudos for being integration-friendly.Perhaps by running 2 casinos, one for black or mixed-tolerant customers, and the other that effectively has mostly white customers, they might just make more money for Wisconsin than by running an "everybody is welcome" mixed casino.

WaukeshaGuy more than 9 years ago

"Not surprisingly, he's blaming the compacts negot...

"Not surprisingly, he's blaming the compacts negotiated with then-Gov. Jim Doyle."Sigh... You do understand that existing legal contracts with other entities can complicate new negotiations, right? Especially in the case where the existing entities have clauses entitling them to compensation for lost revenue. Absent waivers from all those tribes or some provision that the new development make all those payments the State faces unspecified exposure. What is to stop the Potawatomi from claiming that half the revenue made by the new casino the first year it is open represented lost revenue to them? The State would be defending against a claim for hundreds of millions of dollars.Absent those existing contracts Governor Walker's only real consideration would be "is it more beneficial to me to create 10,000 jobs, $800 million in new development, and all the political goodwill versus some ill will from the Potawatomi?"

John832 more than 9 years ago