Bally’s Corporation and the City of Chicago have reached a settlement with two men who claimed they were discriminated against for being white because they weren’t able to invest in the company’s casino project.
Bally’s updated the share sale in April to allow other people to invest
Bally’s proposed a share sale of 25% of the project’s equity through its bid for a gaming license, with only minorities and females eligible. The men filed the complaint in January, and Bally’s updated the share sale in April to allow other people to invest. The company had concerns that other lawsuits were imminent and could jeopardize the entire project.
The reasoning behind the original idea was to help distribute wealth among people in Chicago who historically did not benefit from the city’s largest developments.
Plaintiffs Phillip Aronoff and Richard Fisher, working alongside a conservative legal group named the American Alliance for Equal Rights, claimed their civil rights were breached. It is unclear if they subsequently invested in the share sale following the relaxation of the eligibility criteria in April.
