June 10, 2021, 7:42 am ·
Hard Rock Casino Rockford took a leap forward on Wednesday when the Illinois Gaming Board gave the green light for the project to seek construction approvals.
The regulator further approved a list of 51 investors involved in the scheme, including three executives, and granted a supplier license to the company behind the proposed casino.
Rockford was one of six cities that were approved to host a casino under a sweeping gambling overhaul signed by Gov. J. B. Pritzker in the summer of 2019. A few months later, the
Rockford City Council picked Hard Rock from three finalists that sought to build a gambling venue in the city.
ROCKFORD In an incident with consequences for the city s proposed casino, a pair of friends were driving around last summer in Ogle County looking for a house party that an acquaintance told them was being thrown at an Airbnb rental.
After navigating a half-mile driveway at the Weldon Road address they were given, they were greeted by Joseph Castrogiovanni instead of the revelers they expected, according to Ogle County Sheriff s Department reports obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request.
The 69-year-old owner of Giovanni s Restaurant and Convention Center had been alerted by an automated lighting and alarm system that a car was on his private drive in Ogle County southwest of Rockford.
The Illinois Gaming Board gave preliminary approval Thursday afternoon to a proposed Hard Rock casino in Rockford, despite the agency’s ongoing investigation into the lead developer’s other gambling interests in