The Liberty Justice Center (LJC) today celebrated a significant victory for equal opportunity as Bally’s Corporation announced a revised public offering for its highly anticipated Chicago casino project. The revision comes after the LJC filed a lawsuit, Glennon v. Johnson, challenging the original offering which illegally discriminated based on race and gender.
In a new securities filing dated April 22, Bally’s removed the previous requirement that potential purchasers of initial public offering (IPO) shares be either a woman or identify as a minority. This pivotal change ensures that investment in the Chicago casino project is now open to all residents of the city, regardless of their race or sex.
The legal challenge was initiated on January 30 by the Liberty Justice Center on behalf of Illinois resident Mark Glennon. The lawsuit targeted Mayor Brandon Johnson, the City of Chicago, Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Irvin, Bally’s Chicago Operating Company, and members of the Illinois Gaming Board. At the heart of the dispute was the Host Community Agreement (HCA) between the city and Bally’s, which mandated a 25% minority ownership quota for the casino project. The agreement defined “minority” as encompassing both women and racial minorities.
To meet this requirement, Bally’s initially registered an IPO of 10,000 shares exclusively for investors meeting the city’s definition of “minority.” Mark Glennon, a Chicago resident, was explicitly excluded from this investment opportunity because he did not meet the specified race or sex criteria. The Liberty Justice Center argued that these discriminatory requirements violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause and federal anti-discrimination laws.
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In response to the lawsuit and facing potential regulatory hurdles, Bally’s has now restructured its offering. While the revised plan gives preference to residents of Chicago and Illinois, it does so without any explicit consideration of race or gender.
Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim, speaking to Crain’s Chicago Business, stated, “We want to make the offering go forward and do as we said we were going to do. We think this is a reasonable solution to get there.” He further explained the decision, noting, “We’re saying to the state of Illinois and Chicago (that) we understand what the policy goals were for these hard and fast (minority) rules, but we’re going to drop that in our federal engagement, because it’s not working.” Bally’s now intends to offer shares to the public on a race-neutral basis.
The revised IPO directly addresses the concerns raised by the Liberty Justice Center in the Glennon v. Johnson lawsuit, marking a significant victory for the principle of equal opportunity in public offerings.
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“No one should be excluded from participating in our economy on the basis of their race or sex,” emphasized Reilly Stephens, Senior Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center. “We are glad to see Bally’s new offering allows the people of Chicago to invest in one of the city’s premier projects without discrimination or exclusion.”
The Liberty Justice Center’s central argument in the lawsuit was that the City of Chicago’s mandate violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. With the removal of the discriminatory provisions in the revised IPO, the LJC’s primary objective has been achieved. The next steps will involve the formal dismissal of the Glennon v. Johnson case and the organization’s continued commitment to advocating for equal protection under the law.
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