If Not The Racino —​​ Then What?

TINLEY PARK, IL — Stalled talks between the state of Illinois and planners of the proposed racino to take shape at the site of the former Mental Health Center site in Tinley Park have residents and lawmakers in the suburb questioning what's next. The future of the site has been up in the air for the past month-plus after the state of Illinois had indicated they no longer plan to sell the property to the village, who would then sell it to an entity connected to Gold Rush Gaming founder Rick Heidner. Heidner is leading the push to bring a racetrack and casino to the northwest of 183rd and Harlem.

"The village lost out on someone coming in and cleaning up this property," Tinley Park Trustee Diane Galante said during a recent village committee of the whole meeting. "Who is going to clean it up now? This (the racino) was the answer. It was going to be a huge benefit for our town, surrounding towns and the state."

Galante said it's "unacceptable" for the state to leave the property in the state it is now, and the state needs to address the issue immediately.

The property itself has been abandoned since 2012 and, as many residents have pointed out, an environmental hazard. Several reports have been made of scrappers picking up items at the site and driving through town with them. The expected cost to clean up the asbestos at the property is in the millions, NBC-Chicago reported.

"The state left this and just walked away," Nancy O'Connor, a Tinley Park resident, said in the NBC report. "It's not fair, the state created this problem, the state needs to clean this up."

One resident at the recent meeting said the village should demand the state clean up or sell the land and if not, a complaint should be filed with the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

"We have waited long enough," the resident said. "This property is going to do some credible damage to someone at some point."

Trustee Michael Glotz said it's "very disappointing" to know that someone like Heidner was going to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to clean up the site.

"What's been transpiring is very disappointing," he said.

A few videos on YouTube show the current state of the inside of the abandoned buildings at the site.