Mark Glennon, an Illinois resident, has filed a lawsuit against the City of Chicago and several associated parties, challenging what he claims are discriminatory practices in a casino development project. The complaint was filed on January 30, 2025, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The defendants include Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Bally’s Corporation among others.
The case revolves around a Host Community Agreement between the City of Chicago and Bally’s Chicago Operating Company, LLC, which requires racial and gender-based quotas for participation in an Initial Public Offering (IPO) related to a new casino project. Mark Glennon alleges that this agreement discriminates against him as a white male by preventing him from purchasing shares in the IPO unless he meets certain race or gender criteria set by the city. According to Glennon, these criteria violate his rights under the Fourteenth Amendment and federal civil rights laws.
The Host Community Agreement mandates that Bally’s must ensure 25% minority ownership of the casino project. To comply with this requirement, Bally’s proposed an IPO restricted to women or minorities as defined by Chicago's ordinances. Glennon attempted to invest but was denied because he did not meet these criteria. He argues that such explicit race and sex quotas are unconstitutional and have excluded him from participating based solely on his identity as a white male.
Glennon's complaint asserts that these practices violate several federal statutes including 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1982, and 1983, which protect against racial discrimination in contracts and property transactions. He contends that the City of Chicago is leveraging its approval authority over development projects to enforce discriminatory policies without any compelling governmental interest or evidence of remedying past discrimination.
The plaintiff seeks various forms of relief from the court: an injunction against implementing race or sex-based provisions in the Host Community Agreement; prevention of exclusion based on these classifications for ownership or employment at Bally’s; prohibition against similar future agreements by the City; compensation for legal costs; and additional relief deemed appropriate by the court.
Representing Mark Glennon are attorneys Reilly Stephens and Bridget Conlan from Liberty Justice Center. The case is presided over by judges at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois under Case No. 1:25-cv-1057.