Former Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa is in his 10th — and final — year on the writers’ Hall of Fame ballot. | Darren Hauck/AP

Because of the Steroid Era, filling out my Hall ballot is no longer as innocent as it once was.

I always enjoy getting my National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot in the mail.

It comes with surprises, memories and wistful pondering of the mystifying — but never dull — passage of time.

But then come the clouds.

I hadn’t been thinking much recently about Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens or Sammy Sosa. Which was nice.

But there they are again, bright and shiny, jumping back into the spotlight on my new ballot, along with fresh Hall candidates such as Prince Fielder, David Ortiz and Tim Lincecum.

Bonds, Clemens and Sosa have been on the ballot for 10 years. And 10 years is it.

If they don’t get in this time, they’re done.

At least, they’re done for the regular vote-in from members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

It’s possible one of the Hall’s four era committees could vote in any or all of them down the road, maybe also vote in Manny Ramirez, who has been on the ballot for six years with a high of 28.2% last year.

Manny ain’t getting in by our vote, that’s for sure. You need a checked box on 75% of the ballots cast. I’d be surprised if Ramirez even makes it to half.

Of course, this censuring isn’t because the men, technically speaking, aren’t worthy.

Consider that Sosa — the only player to hit 60 home runs in a season three times, with a total of 609 career homers — got a mere 17% of the vote last year, and you’ll understand considerations such as ”integrity,” ”sportsmanship” and ”character,” all of them mandated parts of the voting guidelines.

Bonds? Arguably the best baseball player ever. Clemens? Arguably the best pitcher in history.

Yeah, a dilemma.

The old steroid nonsense, the troubling moral decisions we voters must make rather than just focusing on the ability and stats of the candidates, all that comes racing back like a foul wind on a sunny day when I see those names.

Will I vote for Bonds, Clemens, Sosa or Ramirez? No.

I never will. If younger voters or the old boys on one of the committees want them in years from now, fine. Do it.

I made my stand way back about what I consider cheating. All those guys are linked to the use of performance-enhancing drugs, which gave them an advantage on the field I don’t like or respect. And, of course, they lied about it.

I can rest easy with my decision. Take it to my grave. Let the worms know.

What I don’t like is that the BBWAA never has come to an agreement about what to do with the whole Steroid Era of inflated men and inflated numbers. It’s an era, don’t forget, that isn’t officially over; it’s just in remission.

I’ll never vote for Alex Rodriguez, a first-timer on this ballot. Not now, not in a thousand years.

”A-Roid” has numbers that are otherworldly: 696 homers, 2,086 RBI, etc.

But say the words ”doping,” ”Biogenesis,” ”lying” and ”phony,” and you’ll see where I’m coming from.

Ortiz? ”Big Papi” is on the ballot for the first time. I always liked the bulky guy and his power and clutch hitting, but I don’t know. He’s lightly tainted by steroid use, but he’s not all-in, like the other cheaters.

I’ll probably vote for him. I need to think about it.

This is the unhappy part, the part that makes the ballot that was first such a joy to receive gradually turn into a sinkhole of doubt, uncertainty, even anger.

I’ll vote for Curt Schilling (even though he’s a jerk), Scott Rolen and Omar Vizquel (even though there are some unproven sexual-abuse allegations about him out there). And I have voted for Billy Wagner and Todd Helton in the past.

I’m eager to study the detailed work of first-timers Fielder, Jonathan Papelbon and Ryan Howard.

And Lincecum, a two-time Cy Young Award winner. I always liked him. Maybe it’s because the long-haired, baby-faced guy somehow threw flaming rockets despite being the size of a typical high school nerd.

It all becomes subjective, really. Everybody on the ballot was a star, a rare talent. You can study the stats until your eyes glaze. The numbers are awesome.

Ultimately, however, I use my own personal standard: When I watched him play, did I think I was watching a future

Hall of Famer? And a decent, sporting human being?

That’s it.

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Brian Kelly, 60, became the winningest coach in Notre Dame history this season, surpassing Knute Rockne. In 12 seasons, Kelly is 113-40. | Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

It’s a stunning move by one of the most accomplished coaches in college football jumping from the sport’s most storied program to an SEC powerhouse.

LSU is hiring Brian Kelly away from Notre Dame, a stunning move by one of the most accomplished coaches in college football, jumping from the sport’s most storied program to an SEC powerhouse.

A person familiar with the decision told the Associated Press on Monday night that Kelly was leaving Notre Dame for LSU. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because neither school was prepared to make an official announcement. Yahoo! Sports first reported the move.

It was the second bombshell in college football in as many days, coming a little more than 24 hours after USC lured Lincoln Riley away from Oklahoma. LSU might have topped it by landing Kelly, whom CBS Sports said agreed to a five-year deal worth $75 million.

In a message to his players obtained by The Athletic, Kelly said he was leaving Notre Dame and would meet the team at 7 a.m. Tuesday. He also apologized that the players found out through news and social-media reports.

The 60-year-old Kelly became the winningest coach in Notre Dame history this season, surpassing Knute Rockne. In 12 seasons with the Fighting Irish, Kelly is 113-40, including the current run of five consecutive double-digit victory seasons.

Notre Dame just completed an 11-1 season Saturday and still is in contention to reach the College Football Playoff for the third time in the last four years.

LSU’s coaching search started in October, when it reached an agreement to part ways with Ed Orgeron at the end of the season. The change came less than two years after “Coach O” led the Tigers to a national championship.

The Tigers finished a 6-6 season Saturday, upsetting Texas A&M at home in Orgeron’s last game. LSU athletic director Scott Woodward has hired big names in previous stops, bringing Chris Petersen from Boise State to Washington and Jimbo Fisher from Florida State to Texas A&M.

Riley was one of the hottest commodities in college football over five years, leading the Sooners to three playoff appearances. He was being introduced at roughly the same time that news of the LSU hire began to circulate.

Kelly is agreeing to take over the Tigers just a few weeks after he publicly had dismissed the idea of moving on when asked about possibly being a candidate at USC.

“No. I mean, look, I think Mike Tomlin had the best line, right?” Kelly told reporters, referring to the Steelers coach. “Unless that fairy godmother comes by with that $250 million check, my wife would want to take a look at it first. I’d have to run it by her.”

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Tracey Stelly, principal of Lavizzo Elementary School, speaks to community members during a town hall meeting at Lavizzo over the recent violence in the Roseland neighborhood that left an 8th Grader and his mother dead in two separate shooting incidents | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

“You see him one day, and then you don’t see him. His desk is empty in his classroom,” Principal Tracy Stelly said of Kevin Tinker, who was fatally shot last week.

Chicago Public Schools Principal Tracey Stelly could barely contain her grief and anger.

Kevin Tinker, a 14-year-old student of hers at Lavizzo Elementary in Roseland, was gunned down last week, and his mother was fatally shot two days later at the spot of her son’s death.

At a community meeting she hosted Monday night in the school’s gym, Stelly made it clear she wanted accountability and change.

“I’ve never heard of a little boy, because that’s what he was, a little boy, he’d been in this school building with me for 11 of his 14 years, getting gunned down, and then his mom goes and places a candle where his blood was and gets shot in the same place,” she said.

Two top cops, Joel Howard, head of Area Two Detectives, and Glenn White, commander of the 5th District, attended the meeting.

“I cannot give you too much information, but I can tell you this investigation has advanced far more than a lot of people are aware of. There are significant leads,” Howard said. “We’re hoping to bring it to a close very soon.”

Stelly was glad the police brass were present and trusted their sincerity, though she admits she initially had doubts the case was being given the importance it deserved.

“I now know that they are on the job, they’re doing what they’re supposed to do. I know that now, yea….I wasn’t sure. Just like every other person in this community, the confidence level has been low,” she said.

Another woman who spoke at the gathering — which drew about 50 people — also shared her doubts.

“I’ve lived in this community for 42 years, and I used to call the police all the time. And then it got to the point where I wouldn’t even call because there was no response,” she said.

White noted the police response to the shooting that killed Tinker, who was in eighth grade: “My officers were on the scene in less than a minute after the shooting, so that tells you we are actively working that area, and we will continue to actively work that area.”

One attendee, Antoine Dobine, an anti-violence activist, said neighbors need to bolster each other to combat any backlash to sharing information on violent criminals.

“We got to start telling on this generation right here that’s killing and don’t care … that’s the solution, coming together, securing each other backs, making sure that ‘I got your back if you tell, ain’t nobody going to come do nothing to you’ … once that happens, we’re going to start solving stuff.”

On the evening of Nov. 21, Tinker was on the sidewalk in the 200 block of West 110th Place when he was shot several times. The home he was in front of had been targeted earlier in the day, police Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said last week. He would not say if the boy himself was a target.

His mother, Delisa Tucker, 31, was killed on the same sidewalk Nov. 24 around 12:15 a.m.

Friends say she was steps from a memorial to her son, intending to light a candle, when there was gunfire. She was hit in the chest and died.

Police have declined to comment on a possible motive or connection between the two shootings.

Stelly was disappointed the senseless story of their deaths didn’t make a dent in national news.

“Kevin has never disrespected a teacher or staff, ever, since he was in pre-k … he was not an angel but a good kid,” she said.

“You see him one day, and then you don’t see him. His desk is empty in his classroom. We expect for him to walk through the door of the school. And then to know that he’s gone, that his physical being is gone,” she said, shaking her head.

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Jonathan Toews is still looking for his first goal of the season. | Getty

The Hawks have eight goals in their last five games, and the power play hasn’t produced anything since Nov. 12.

The Blackhawks aren’t scoring a lot of goals and Jonathan Toews hasn’t found the back of the net.

That doesn’t mean the Hawks captain is the only reason for the team’s dry spell.

After Sunday’s 2-0 loss to the Sharks, the Hawks have scored eight goals in their last five games. The power play, which is converting 16.2% this season and entered Monday 22nd in the league, hasn’t been successful since Nov. 12 against Arizona.

“It’s just amazing, I think especially going through training camp and the beginning of the season, we were just so confident, so comfortable on the power play,” winger Patrick Kane said. “If you asked me where I thought we would finish, I would say top-five for sure.”

Toews, of course, hasn’t connected in a regular-season game since March 5, 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic and the entire 2021 season he missed due to health issues. That’s why Hawks interim coach Derek King isn’t exactly shocked by Toews needing time to get back into a groove after a season away.

“It’s not minor hockey, you know?” King said. “You can get away with it there but here, these players are good, these are good teams. They’re solid, they’re structured and they play well. When you miss a year of hockey and you’re coming back and you don’t score for a while, it starts to get to you.”

Even without scoring, King said Toews is working hard and doing things they ask him to. In the same answer, King made a prudent point.

“He’s our leader and he’s playing good hockey,” King said. “It’s just the pucks… even [Sunday], there are pucks around his feet or going off his stick and bouncing over here. It’s just not clicking right now, and it’s not just him. It’s a bunch of them. We just have to stay the course and fight through this.”

As the statistics show, Toews isn’t the only Hawks player looking for more goals.

Dominik Kubalik and Kirby Dach both have three goals in 21 games. Only Alex DeBrincat (12) has double-figures this season.

“I think looking back at the road trip, I thought we had some good chances 5-on-5, just didn’t find a way to put them in,” Kane said. “[Sunday], I thought we carried most of the play. They did a good job of clogging it up there. [The Sharks] have some defensemen who are really good at blocking shots and they did their job [Sunday]. But got to find a way to capitalize in that situation.”

Playing through teams like the Sharks is something the Hawks have to figure out. Or else more good performances could be wasted.

King feels like once a couple pucks go in, more will follow.

“For the most part, the floodgates will open for some of these guys,” King said. “And if our power play starts clicking again, then we’re going to be on top of these teams and we’re going to come out ahead.”

A clicking power play would certainly help. It went 0 for 2 Sunday and continued its struggles without forward Tyler Johnson, who’s still on long-term injured reserve.

“Hopefully we can get it going again and get that confidence like we had at the beginning of the season because it was fun to play like that,” Kane said. “You had possession, you had options and we were moving it around pretty well.”

NOTE: The Hawks recalled forward Josiah Slavin from AHL Rockford and assigned forward Philipp Kurashev to the IceHogs. Slavin, a 2018 seventh-round pick, has eight points in 15 Rockford games. Kurashev, meanwhile, has five assists in 19 Hawks games this season.

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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team has been really good under head coach Brian Kelly. He is the winningest coach in Notre Dame history with a record of 113-40 since he became the guy in 2010. It has been a really nice run for him as their coach that includes a trip to the […] Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Losing Brian Kelly to LSU is tough – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & MoreRead More

Two shipping containers belonging to Kidz Korna are on this log in the 6500 block of South Parnell Avenue in Englewood. But there used to be three, and the third container, stolen sometime before Saturday afternoon, held tens of thousands of dollars in donated toys, clothes, electronics and other gifts that Kidz Korna and Flags of the Heart had planned to hand out at Christmastime. | Cheyanne M. Daniels/Sun-Times

A 53-foot-long white shipping container stolen from an Englewood lot sometime over the weekend contained about $50,000 in donated toys, clothes and other Christmas gifts.

For nearly a year, Delece Williams’ organization, Kidz Korna, has been collecting donations of toys, clothes and electronics.

Williams and Sharon Preston, founder of Flags of the Heart, planned to hand out those items at Christmastime to families in a roughly 40-block area they had “adopted.”

“We have a lot of senior citizens that’s dependent on us to help them with the grandkids as well as single parents,” said Preston at a press conference Monday. “Everybody knows that COVID hit and it’s trying times right now. We need to step up and support the people that we can.”

But now it’s Williams and Preston who could use a little support — in finding, or maybe replacing, those donations.

Sometime over the weekend, the 53-foot-long shipping container they’d been storing their bounty in was stolen from a lot in Englewood.

Williams discovered the theft about 1 p.m. Saturday when she arrived to drop off more items. Two containers were there. The one with the gifts was not.

She was in shock.

“I thought that at first someone may have taken it by mistake,” she said of the missing white container, which has a serial number of UMXU 630361.

Cheyanne M. Daniels/Sun-Times
Delece Williams of Kidz Korna (at microphone) and Sharon Preston of Flags of the Heart (white coat) held a news conference Monday at the Englewood lot where a Kidz Korna shipping container holding about $50,000 in donated Christmas presents was stolen. With Williams was her husband, house music DJ Farley Jackmaster Funk (left).

That container, donated by CSX Transportation, as well as two others belonging to Kidz Korna, had been at a lot in the 6500 block of Parnell Avenue. One of the remaining shipping containers was filled with Kidz Korna’s office supplies; the other held old tires.

She called the railroad; CSX told her they hadn’t authorized the removal (the lot is near some railroad tracks).

Then she knocked on some neighbors’ doors, asking if anyone had seen anything.

“One of the neighbors said a tow truck was here on Friday,” said Williams. “They sat out here for about an hour, and then they just towed it away.”

Normally, Williams added, neighbors would have told the truck driver the container was there by permission. But because the thief had the tools to lift such a large item, neighbors thought Williams or another member of Kidz Korna knew it was being moved.

The container was about 80% filled — with toys, new clothing and shoes, personal heaters, more than 10,000 pieces of custom jewelry, blankets, electronics, school supplies and more. Williams estimated the donations were worth $50,000.

“CSX is saddened to learn that a storage container donated to the Kids Korner Foundation has gone missing,” said Cindy Schild, a company spokeswoman. “We are disappointed that someone would take toys intended for needy families in our community. We hope that the stolen property will be recovered and are supporting local law enforcement as they investigate.”

Williams founded Kidz Korna in 1994; her goal was to minimize violence and abuse in the community through partnerships with media, the Chicago Police Department and community organizations.

This year, Kidz Korna partnered with Flags of the Heart for its 16th Annual Winter Wonderland Giveaway Driveby & Tour.

“We took money out of our pockets at the end of Christmas [last year] because they mark the toys down, the coats down and we went to purchase a lot of stuff,” said Preston. “Just for it to be gone, that we cannot provide for the kids the way we like to, help the senior citizens … it’s just a hurting feeling.”

Cheyanne M. Daniels/Sun-Times
Despite the theft of about $50,000 in donations, Flags of the Heart founder Sharon Preston (left) and Kidz Korna founder/president Delece Williams remain hopeful they’ll have enough donations to share for the Christmas season.

Williams said she received a call Monday morning that CPD detectives may have a lead. But the detective was not available Monday, and a call to the Chicago police seeking details on the investigation was not returned.

Saturday’s theft wasn’t the first time Kidz Korna had been targeted.

A few weeks ago, the container holding its office supplies was mistakenly removed. Then, shortly before the gifts were stolen, Williams and her team found the lock on the container door had been cut off and replaced. (They cut that new lock off, and put one of theirs back on again.)

Monday, Williams said this should be a warning for other community organizations.

“We’ve been hearing a lot about the car thefts and the carjackings,” said Williams. “Now we have to be very mindful of the containers being stolen. A lot of you know businesses have downsized or closed down and they get those temporary containers. They put them on the sidewalks … and they’re unprotected. You would think that they’re safe. That’s what I thought.”

Preston said the community partners also will “adopt” five families on Christmas Eve.

“We’re going to feed them, give them toys, give them gift cards and everything we can,” said Preston.

And they will work harder than ever for the main giveaway to go on.

Money can be donated through CashApp$ to KidzKorna, or at the Kidz Korna main office, 7901 S. Ashland Ave.

Donations also can be dropped off at:

o U.S. Bank, 815 W. 63rd St., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday,

o Farley’s House Music Store, 1301 E. 87th St., 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sundays.

Cheyanne M. Daniels is a staff reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times via Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster the paper’s coverage of communities on the South and West sides.

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Yorkville Christian’s Giovanni Johnson (13) shoots against Kankakee. | Allen Cunningham/For the Sun-Times

All the scores from around the area.

Please send scores and corrections to [email protected].

Monday, November 29, 2021

CHICAGO PREP

Rochelle Zell at Ellison, 7:30

INDEPENDENT

North Shore at Lake Forest Academy, 6:00

METRO PREP

CPSA at Chesterton, 6:30

Horizon-McKinley at Hinsdale Adventist, 6:30

NONCONFERENCE

Harlan 82, Hirsch 28

Antioch at Woodstock North, 7:00

Bolingbrook at St. Charles North, 7:15

Catalyst-Maria at EPIC, 5:00

Christian Heritage at Ida Crown, 7:45

Elgin at Addison Trail, 7:00

Hoffman Estates at Schaumburg Christian, 6:00

Holy Trinity at Steinmetz, 5:00

Intrinsic-Downtown at Chicago Academy, 5:00

Marine at Pritzker, 6:00

Morgan Park at Fenwick, 7:00

Noble Academy at Speer, 7:00

Northtown at Northside, 6:30

Universal at Morgan Park Academy, 6:00

Wells at Ogden, 5:00

Westinghouse at Muchin, 7:00

Woodstock North at Antioch, 7:00

AURORA CHRISTIAN

IMSA vs. Crossroads, 6:00

Harvest Christian vs. Aurora Christian, 7:30

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New Fire coach Ezra Hendrickson, right, shakes hands with sporting director Georg Heitz during a Monday news conference. | Courtesy of the Fire

Formally introduced as the team’s 10th full-time coach, Hendrickson joins the Fire after working for some of the league’s best coaches, including Sigi Schmid, Brian Schmetzer and Caleb Porter.

Ezra Hendrickson has worked for some of the best coaches in MLS history. The Fire hope he can apply what he’s learned to eventually make them a winner again.

Formally introduced at a Monday news conference as the team’s 10th full-time coach, Hendrickson joins the Fire after spending time with many of the model franchises in MLS, most recently the Columbus Crew. That means he’s been employed by a sampling of the league’s championship coaches, including the late Sigi Schmid, Seattle’s Brian Schmetzer and Columbus’ Caleb Porter.

“These are guys who have been very successful and won championships in the league and been leaders of very successful clubs,” Hendrickson said. “I’ll take a lot from each one of them but at the end of the day, it’s going to be what I’ve learned compounded with what I bring to the table as far as a coach and my style and my philosophy that’s going to lead this team going forward.”

Hendrickson is used to winning. More of that would help the Fire as they try to build excitement in their franchise in a crowded sports market.

“Being successful is going to bring people to the stadium and keep them coming back to the stadium, and that’s our focus going forward with this team is to be very successful and get our fans back to being engaged with this team and lifting trophies,” Hendrickson said. “My biggest mentor, Sigi Schmid, that was one thing he always said is, “fill the trophy case. Wherever you go, fill the trophy case.” And that’s something that we plan to do here in Chicago.”

That might not be overnight, however.

Hendrickson conceded there might be some growing pains, and that the roster could use more leadership to bolster a franchise that’s invested in Homegrown players. A day after the last game, sporting director Georg Heitz and the Fire said goodbye to nine players, signalling another rebuild this offseason.

When Heitz was asked what success looks like for the 2022 season, he paused for a couple seconds before answering.

“I feel like every year, I say the same thing, but of course we want to make the playoffs,” Heitz said. “Of course. Because otherwise, we do not even need to start training in January. We want to make the playoffs.”

With Hendrickson, the Fire don’t expect to hesitate when asked that in the future.

NOTE: After Hendrickson implied it, Heitz said “you can be sure” veteran defender Jonathan Bornstein will return to the Fire next season. Bornstein, 37, is currently out of contract.

As for the options on Designated Player Gaston Gimenez and defender Wyatt Omsberg, Heitz said he “wouldn’t want this to be a media conference about our roster.”

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BetRivers Sportsbook, the first brick-and-mortar sportsbook approved by the Illinois Gaming Board, opens to the public at Rivers Casino in Des Plaines last March. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she would never do anything that would meaningfully compromise the casino revenue needed to shore up police and fire pension funds that are now dangerously close to insolvency.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday denied doing the flip-flop on sports betting and said there is no hard evidence that allowing sportsbooks in and around five stadiums would “cannibalize” revenue from a Chicago casino.

Lightfoot said she would never do anything that would meaningfully compromise casino revenue, which is dedicated to shore up police and fire pension funds now dangerously close to insolvency — and there is no evidence that casino revenue losses to sports betting would be severe.

Never mind the sky-is-falling scenario portrayed recently by casino magnate Neil Bluhm.

“There’s been some dire warnings that have been issued by some who … already use sportsbook at their own casinos and who are trying to kill sportsbook here in Chicago. They have not put forth any convincing evidence that … somehow it’s gonna cannibalize a casino here in Chicago. … We’ve seen zero indication that that’s the case,” Lightfoot said.

“We’ve heard … a lot of talk by people who would profit by not allowing the sports teams to have a sportsbook of their own. But talk is talk. Facts and data — that’s what I’m about.”

Lightfoot said her “first concern” is making certain a Chicago casino “generates the kind of revenues that we need to shore up” police and fire pension funds.

“I wouldn’t allow something to move forward that felt like it was gonna undermine that incredibly important opportunity,” she said.

Lightfoot noted sports betting has been legal in Illinois since the General Assembly authorized it in 2019. She expects an amended ordinance lifting the Chicago ban to be approved by the City Council at the December meeting.

Under the plan, sports betting would be authorized at Wrigley, Guaranteed Rate Field, Soldier Field, the United Center and Wintrust Arena or in a “permanent building or structure located within a five-block radius” of those stadiums.

Getty
A lifting of Chicago’s ban on sportsbooks would allow a betting facility at or within five blocks of Wrigley Field and several other sports facilities in the city.

“Of course, there will be some impact [on a Chicago casino]. There’s never been any suggestion that it won’t impact it. The reality is, you can’t watch a sporting event now without seeing an ad for FanDuel … or DraftKings. … Sportsbook is in our DNA and blood system now in the city of Chicago and really across the country where it’s legal,” Lightfoot said.

“So, the question is, how do we manage this in a way that benefits Chicago taxpayers? That’s really the only question.”

Bluhm’s interest in blocking sports betting in Chicago is two-fold. His Rush Street Gaming company is part of two separate groups vying to build a Chicago casino. And his Des Plaines-based Rivers Casino already has a sportsbook that stands to lose business if sports betting is legalized in Chicago.

During a subject matter hearing earlier this month, Bluhm argued that lifting the city’s ban on sports betting would have a “material negative impact” on both a Chicago casino and city revenues from it — to the tune of $88 million, about 10% of the “projected gaming revenue” — regardless of which of five potential sites and development teams is picked.

“The person who gambles on sports is very likely a gambler who also bets on tables and slot machines. It’s 20% of our business. … This isn’t some hypothetical discussion,” Bluhm said.

“The bottom line is that less people will come to the Chicago casino when they can bet on sports at the stadiums, particularly at these really good, close locations [at Wrigley Field and the United Center]. That means that less sports bettors will walk around the casino and play slots and table games and less people go to the restaurants at the casino if they can also be betting sports at the same time at the stadium.”

Specifically, Bluhm argued Chicago casino revenue from slots and tables would drop by $61 million a year with stadium sports betting. The city would lose 20% of that — about $12 million. The state would lose $9 million.

“For almost 20 years, the city has tried to get a casino. Now, when you finally can have one, why would you create several competitors when the city gets no revenue from sports betting?” Bluhm said.

“What is more important — that the city have a great casino or the sports teams have a retail sports betting book? … This is not good for the city. It’s gonna cost them a lot of money.”

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