La Crosse Tribune: Proposed city casino faces mounting odds

A labor group known for its support of development announced its opposition Thursday to a Ho-Chunk Nation casino in La Crosse County.

A statewide anti-gambling group also held a news conference Thursday in La Crosse to announce many state legislative candidates are opposed to gambling expansion.

And a non-partisan Wisconsin research group released results of an opinion survey showing nearly two-thirds of state residents oppose expansion of off-reservation casino gambling.

La Crosse County voters will be asked Nov. 7 in an advisory referendum whether they support a casino in La Crosse County. As election day approaches, casino supporters and opponents are holding events hoping to sway voters.

The La Crosse Building and Construction Trades Council's president said Thursday the group has voted unanimously to oppose the casino.

"While it is unusual for the building trades council to oppose the potential for new construction in the area, the Ho-Chunk proposal falls short of the best interests of the La Crosse area building tradesmen on a number of fronts," said Jerry Jensen of the council.

Jensen said the Ho-Chunk Nation hasn't used local workers for its construction projects, opting instead for a general contractor from Plain, Wis., which hires tradespeople from outside the area.

"When they built the Three Rivers Health Clinic in La Crosse, they used contractors from every

area but La Crosse," Jensen said, referring to renovation of the former Masonic Temple building on Main Street. "With all the problems potentially involved in gaming, the least they could do is promise that" the work on the projects in this area would be done by workers from this area. The Ho-Chunk have refused repeated requests for meetings to discuss the making of this commitment."

Jensen said the tribe's contractor uses a mix of union and non-union workers, and would bring down wage and benefit levels for local workers.

Jensen said the council also opposed the casino because the tribe has not announced the casino's exact location.

Tribal spokespeople were not available for comment late Thursday.

In an economic analysis of a casino's impact on the La Crosse area, a consultant to the tribe estimated a $23.9 million construction project would create jobs for approximately 498 construction workers, based on prevailing wages. Salaries for construction workers and designers would amount to $14.3 million, according to the report. Another $9.6 million would be spent in the local economy during construction on goods and materials.

Ho-Chunk Nation spokespersons have said at recent forums they hope to announce a likely site for the casino before the election. Tribal legislative attorney William Boulware said last week the tribe would like to be in or near downtown La Crosse.

Unlike all the other Wisconsin American Indian tribes, the Ho-Chunk Nation has no reservation land. The tribe does own land, some of which is held in trust by the federal government.

State survey

Nearly two-thirds of Wisconsin residents favor allowing tribes to continue gambling on reservation land, but a similar percentage opposes expansion of off-reservation gambling, according to the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute.

The survey of 660 Wisconsin residents between Oct. 18 and 21 found 65 percent reported they oppose off-reservation expansion, 27 percent favor it and 8 percent are not sure.

In the La Crosse-Eau Claire area, the survey had 74 responses. Sixtysix percent said they opposed off-reservation expansion, 21 percent favored it and 13 percent were not sure, according to the institute.

The Ho-Chunk Nation's compact with the state allows for four casino locations. The tribe has three, and officials have maintained opening a fourth would not be an expansion because it has the right to a fourth casino under the compact. Gov. Tommy Thompson said earlier this week that the nation would have to close one of its existing casinos if it wants to open one in La Crosse.

Lawmakers views

Wisconsin legislative candidates "have no stomach whatsoever for gambling expansion and appear to be willing to do something about it in the next legislative session," the Rev. Duane Anderson of Kenosha said Thursday in La Crosse.

Anderson, chairman of the Wisconsin Coalition Against Gambling Expansion, was in town with other casino opponents from Beloit and elsewhere in the state. WCAGE sent surveys to all 193 state Senate and Assembly candidates, but only 24 percent responded.

"An overwhelming 90 percent of survey respondents said they oppose gambling expansion in Wisconsin," Anderson said. "There was not one candidate who said he/she supported expansion."

Nearly three quarters of respondents said they favored a constitutional amendment to restrict gambling expansion, as called for in a 1993 state advisory referendum, which was supported by 62 percent of voters.