![]() One of my earliest news-related memories is of dinner table conversations about plans to open casinos in Detroit. Photo by Nic Antaya for Crain's Detroit Business. We'll keep listening at the threshold of Lansing's closed doors for more details.Ī May 1994 clipping from The Michigan Chronicle with an opinion piece by Detroit City Councilmember Gil Hill expressing support for casino gambling in Detroit. (Ross is supporting the approximately $250 million project with a personal pledge of $100 million.) One thing we still don't know is why, exactly, Ross sought state dollars. In 2020, Ross told the audience at Crain's Newsmaker of the Year luncheon that he would seek philanthropic support for the project, but has since indicated that the pandemic may have scared off potential donors. Thanedar, who expressed general skepticism about giving billionaires public money, but said: "It's a good line item, and it's a good project." Others who did not meet with Ross also voiced support for the project - even Rep. Curtis Hertel, D-East Lansing, the highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, who met with Ross. "Anything that helps bring jobs, high-paying jobs and for Michiganders and helps bring young people to move back into the state I think is a positive thing," said Sen. They learned that Ross personally met with several lawmakers in February, including legislative leaders and top-ranking members of the budget committees in the House and Senate. So Crain's reporters Kirk Pinho and David Eggert sought to find out how the line item - which adds up to 40 percent of the estimated cost of the project and amounts to roughly $10 for every person in the state - made its stealthy way into the budget. Lawmakers told Crain's the project was not discussed on the House floor or in committee. None of the project's collaborators - billionaire developer Stephen Ross, the Ilitch family's Olympia Development of Michigan or the University of Michigan - had indicated they were seeking public funding for DCI. The earmark was one of the big surprises in the budget, which lawmakers passed in the middle of the night earlier this month. Shri Thanedar, D-Detroit, described the $100 million earmark in the state budget for the Detroit Center for Innovation. ![]() "It just appeared in the budget, basically.
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