A contentious City of Chicago committee hearing on a proposed ordinance aimed at reversing the legalization of video gambling terminals (VGTs) ended abruptly on Wednesday amid heightened tensions and calls for a city commissioner’s resignation. The Workforce Development Committee convened to consider an ordinance backed by Mayor Brandon Johnson to solidify an agreement with Bally’s Chicago, the city’s first casino operator, which would ban VGTs.

The debate over video gambling terminals has been a central point of conflict between Johnson and a bloc of aldermen who passed the city’s budget earlier this year without his support. The budget relies on revenue from the recently authorized video gambling terminals to fill an estimated $6.8 million shortfall. At the hearing, Steven Mahr, Johnson’s acting chief financial officer, emphasized the financial risks, stating the city’s contract with Bally’s could be jeopardized if the repeal of VGT legalization does not advance.

Bally’s executives have argued that the city’s contract, which grants Bally’s a casino monopoly, includes a provision that exempts the company from paying $4 million in annual impact fees if the monopoly is breached by permitting video gambling terminals. Bally’s senior vice president Christopher Jewett cautioned that the casino operator agreed to its commitments based on the premise that VGTs would remain prohibited. He stated that Bally’s would not have entered the agreement had it anticipated the city would later allow competing forms of gaming.

In response, Jewett proposed that Bally’s pursue slot machine lounges at Chicago’s two major airports—O’Hare International and Midway International—instead of relying on the revenue from citywide VGTs. He highlighted the potential for one slot machine lounge per airport terminal, although this initiative can proceed regardless of the VGT ordinance’s outcome.

Several aldermen challenged the process surrounding the ordinance. North Side Ald. Debra Silverstein, chair of the License Committee, where similar gambling legislation was previously debated, questioned why the current proposal was routed through the Workforce Development Committee rather than her committee. A representative from Mayor Johnson’s Law Department defended the choice, citing the ordinance’s emphasis on workforce training opportunities linked to Bally’s casino operations.

Supporters of the ordinance, including West Side Ald. Jason Ervin, Johnson’s budget chair, defended the committee assignment, noting that prior VGT legalization appeared in his committee during the 2026 budget process. Ervin also supported Bally’s airport slot machine proposal, arguing that allowing widespread VGTs undercuts more lucrative casino tax revenue, describing such a shift as “tripping over hundred dollar bills to pick up nickels.”

The hearing dissolved into acrimony when Ald. Anthony Beale, an outspoken mayoral critic, accused the Workforce Development Committee and city officials of pushing an administration agenda and disputing the administration’s revenue estimates as speculative. He contended that licensing fees from VGTs—rather than immediate terminal operation—would generate the stated $6.8 million and expressed confidence that broad deployment of terminals across neighborhoods would produce higher long-term revenues.

Beale’s confrontation with Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Commissioner Ivan Capifali over enforcement of illegal sweepstakes machines escalated, culminating in Beale calling for Capifali’s resignation and characterizing the proceedings as a “circus.” Following Beale’s denunciation, the meeting was adjourned by a majority vote of aldermen present, bringing the discussion to an abrupt close.