Bird Friendly Chicago Raises Concerns About Bally’s Casino

Posted on: July 26, 2024, 05:27h. 

Last updated on: July 26, 2024, 05:27h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

William Blake once said “No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings,” but birds flying around the site of Bally’s permanent casino hotel in Chicago should be careful.

Bally's birds
A rendering of Bally’s Chicago casino. Bird Friendly Chicago believes the hotel tower poses a threat to birds. (Image: Illinois Online Gambling)

Bird Friendly Chicago, a group comprised of the Chicago Ornithological Society, Chicago Bird Alliance, and Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, said the gaming company’s revised hotel plans could endanger thousands of birds that fly through that part of the city.

The Freedom Center, which Bally’s will demolish and convert to a casino hotel, is located at Chicago Avenue and Halsted Street along the Chicago River. When the gaming company selected and purchased the site in 2022, the plan was to build the hotel on the northern end of the property. Last year, that choice came under fire as it was discovered that neither the city nor Bally’s realized that building on that portion of the land could potentially damage underground infrastructure and threaten water supply to neighboring communities.

The regional casino operator recently said the 500-room tower will be built on the southern portion of the land, but Bird Friendly Chicago believes the new location directly on the Chicago River could be a high frequency bird killer.

Bird Friendly Chicago Sees Multiple Issues with Bally’s Casino

Due to its location in the Midwest and close proximity to Lake Michigan, Chicago is a vital pathway for thousands of migratory birds across hundreds of species.

Chicago is within a major flight path for millions of migratory birds that move along its rivers and the shores of Lake Michigan every spring and fall. Birds have used this region’s critical green spaces to rest and feed for thousands of years before human development created an urban environment filled with hazardous lighting and glass,” according to Bird Friendly Chicago.

The coalition points to at least two potential issues that could make the Bally’s casino dangerous to birds — the use of transparent glass and heavy nighttime lighting, both of which are hallmarks of many gaming venues. Birds don’t know how to avoid transparent glass.

“Most species of songbirds migrate at night. Lighting that emanates from urban areas into the nighttime sky confuses birds, and attracts them away from their migratory flights, bringing them down into the glass hazards of the city,” added Bird Friendly Chicago.

Chicago Has History of Bird Deaths

Bird Friendly Chicago’s concerns about the Bally’s casino possibly being a danger to birds aren’t unfounded because the Windy City has a history of bird carnage. The organization said that over the past two decades, 40,000 dead birds from more than 200 species have been found around the Chicago Loop.

One of the worst such instances of birds being killed in Chicago occurred last year when nearly 1,000 of the animals collided with the glass building located at the McCormick Place Lakeside Center. The Bally’s site could be nearly as dangerous.

“Bird collision monitors pick up at least 600 birds a year within a half-mile of the casino site, a number that likely only represents a fraction of the true toll,” reported Patty Wetli for WTTW.