The Forest County Potawatomi Community plans to turn the former dog track in Kenosha into a mixed-use development of apartments, offices and industrial buildings.
Members of the Menominee Tribe, southeastern Wisconsin union workers and a bipartisan group of state lawmakers came together Thursday to urge Gov. Scott Walker to reconsider his rejection of a proposed new casino in Kenosha.
The Forest County Potawatomi filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging the federal government's rejection of compact language that would have left the state on the hook for reimbursing the tribe if the rival Menominee Nation gets a casino in Kenosha.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs has rejected a deal that called for Wisconsin to reimburse the Forest County Potawatomi for any losses the tribe suffers at its casino in Milwaukee if the Menominee Nation opens a casino less than 50 miles away in Kenosha.
Gov. Scott Walker and the Forest County Potawatomi have signed a compact amendment that would formally require the state to ensure the tribe receives payments for any losses its Milwaukee casino might suffer if the Menominee Nation opens a competing facility in Kenosha.
The Forest County Potawatomi has refused to make its annual casino revenue payment to the state as Gov. Scott Walker mulls whether to approve a competing facility, causing what the governor is calling a "significant" impact on the state budget.
Gov. Scott Walker says he has re-affirmed his criteria for approving the Menominee Nation's plans for an off-reservation casino in Kenosha with tribal leaders.
The Wisconsin Senate president on Wednesday questioned Gov. Scott Walker's criteria for approving a new tribal casino, saying the standards contradict the free market system.