...near Chicago, out for bid early this year, hoping to generate billions of dollars in revenues for the state, spokesman Gene O'Shea said.
 
The license may also be part of discussions by lawmakers in downstate Springfield about a significant "gambling expansion" that includes the increasingly likely prospect of a Chicago-based casino.

Operator Emerald Casinos and the state have gone back and forth over the license since 2001, and Gaming Board Chairman Aaron Jaffe said last month the inactive license has "cost the state $1 billion in lost revenue." Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, whose office represents the gaming board, called Emerald's decision to formally drop its long-inactive plans for a casino in Rosemont "an important victory for the people of Illinois in our long legal fight."

Casino locales

Chicago area communities from Waukegan to Des Plaines to Country Club Hills have contended for the coveted casino license, and the Gaming Board has the power to award the license to a company to operate a casino anywhere except on the Lake Michigan shore, O'Shea said.

Rosemont might still be in the running. The village considered its lease with Emerald void, spokesman Gary Mack said, and the village "might consider working with another casino operator."

Mayor Brad Stephens in September offered to sell the state the Rosemont Theatre as the site for a state-operated casino, but no action has been taken on that offer yet, officials said.
 
Emerald Casino this week disclosed that it has decided to discontinue the legal battle it has been prosecuting for years against the gaming board for the right to operate in suburban Rosemont, the casino's attorney Robert Clifford said.

The surprising decision comes just a few weeks after the Illinois Supreme Court declined to review an Appellate Court ruling that upheld the Gaming Board's decision that went against Emerald, stemming from a 2005 case.

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