What the Lawsuit Seeks
Filed Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court, the case asks a judge to issue a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the city’s new tax and licensing rules. The plaintiffs also want a declaration that the measures are unconstitutional.
City officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. However, resistance to Chicago’s proposal has also surfaced in Springfield.
State Lawmakers Push Back
Earlier this year, State Reps. Daniel Didech of Buffalo Grove and Curtis Tarver of Chicago introduced legislation that would explicitly prohibit local governments from regulating, licensing or taxing sports betting.
“When the legislature legalized sports betting in 2019, it was never our intent to allow local governments to create their own rules for this industry,” Didech said in an October statement. He warned the city’s approach could harm consumers, steer vulnerable bettors to predatory illegal markets and shrink state tax revenue.
The proposal has not yet come up for a vote, leaving the courts to decide the next play in a rapidly escalating showdown.
