The News: The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL), representing the American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER), announced a settlement in the lawsuit filed against the City of Chicago, the Illinois Gaming Board, and Bally’s Chicago Casino regarding a $250 million investment opportunity only offered to “people of color” and “women.”
Filed on behalf of AAER and two of its members, the lawsuit challenged the discriminatory $250 million investment opportunity in Bally’s Chicago Casino development, which was advertised as being exclusively available to minority individuals. Following our lawsuit, it was announced that Bally’s ended this discriminatory practice and has settled the case with WILL. The terms of the settlement are confidential.
The Quotes: WILL Deputy Counsel, Dan Lennington, stated, “Bally’s illegal and divisive investment plan is dead. From the beginning, this investment plan raised serious legal and ethical concerns and has since been abandoned. We are very pleased with the outcome in this case.”
Edward Blum, President at AAER, stated, “It’s time to end racial discrimination in America and AAER stands ready to challenge similar programs wherever they exist. We are incredibly pleased with the outcome in this case.”
Additional Background: The City of Chicago announced a new $1.7 billion casino, Bally’s Chicago. The casino’s development is slated to be built on a 30-acre site that includes a range of amenities such as a 3,000-seat theater, approximately 3,000 slot machines, hundreds of table games, VIP gaming areas, restaurants, a hotel, pool, spa, and more.
Bally’s Chicago advertised an initial public offering to raise $250 million. However, this investment opportunity was only open to “minorities,” identified elsewhere as “people of color” and “women.” The offering would have given participating investors a 25% financial stake in the project.
Race-based stock offerings are illegal. In January, WILL filed a lawsuit challenging the $250 million investment opportunity on behalf of AAER, to open the investment opportunity to everyone, regardless of race. In April, Bally’s filed an amended registration with the Securities and Exchange Casino eliminating the racial eligibility requirement.
Our Client: AAER, run by Edward Blum, is a sister organization to Students for Fair Admission, the group responsible for the landmark decision ending affirmative action in higher education. Two AAER members were also plaintiffs.
Read more:
- Initial Complaint, January 2025
- Stipulation of Dismissal, June 2025
Dan Lennington
Managing Vice President & Deputy Counsel