Chicago teams are betting on a Daley to win City Hall OK for ‘sports book’ wagering at arenas
Cook County Commissioner John Daley’s son is lobbying the Chicago City Council to approve sports betting at or near Sox park, Wrigley Field, Soldier Field and the United Center.
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The behind-the-scenes lobbying effort to bring sports betting to Chicago’s pro sports arenas has enlisted a clout-heavy name — Daley.
John R. Daley — the son of Cook County Commissioner John Daley and a nephew of former Mayor Richard M. Daley — is working as a lobbyist for the White Sox as the team, acting in concert with the Cubs, Bears, Blackhawks and Bulls, pushes for the
Chicago City Council to let all of them open sports wagering facilities at or near their stadiums.John R. Daley’s first cousin Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson represents the family’s political base, the South Side’s 11th Ward that’s home to the Sox ballpark, Guaranteed Rate Field. Sources say another lobbyist, not Daley, has been assigned to lobby the alderman on behalf of the Sox.
Thompson — a grandson and nephew of Chicago’s two longest-serving mayors — has been supportive of the proposal to allow sports betting at stadiums and arenas in discussions with fellow aldermen, lobbyists and others in recent months, sources say.
Under a proposed ordinance introduced by Ald. Walter Burnett (27th), each sports gambling operation would pay City Hall a $50,000 fee plus a $25,000 yearly renewal fee to operate inside each stadium or within a five-block radius.
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Asked why John R. Daley was hired, a White Sox spokesman says: “John is well respected in his field, is smart and experienced. In this particular case, all of the teams, their executives and their lobbyists have been working together jointly toward a common goal of getting this one ordinance passed. The governor wants it. The Legislature supports it, as does the mayor. And we believe the majority of the city council does as well.
“John and Lisa Duarte have been working as lobbyists for the United Center for a number of years at the state level, so it only made sense to add them to the lobbyists working on this ordinance at the Chicago city level, too. We are proud of the relationship we have with John and appreciate what he brings to the table in terms of judgment, trust, attentiveness and results.”
John R. Daley didn’t comment, but sent a letter from his lawyer saying he is “not precluded from registering or acting as a lobbyist on City of Chicago matters because of that family relationship.”
One source describes Thompson as generally supportive of the proposed ordinance — which would allow gamblers to bet on sporting events at or near Sox park, Wrigley Field, Soldier Field and the United Center even when they’re not hosting games.
But Thompson, whose relatives have been Sox season ticket-holders for generations, is concerned about the impact, including traffic, on residential areas in Bridgeport, the source says.
Thompson didn’t respond to interview requests.
He has abstained from voting on matters that involved his uncle, the former mayor, who is now an attorney with a law firm, and the alderman’s cousin William Daley, who works for Goldman Sachs. Both firms have been involved in financial deals with City Hall.
