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Legislative deadline passes with no action on Walker's Bluff project

WILLIAMSON COUNTY - Both the gaming subcommittee meeting and House session opened and closed Friday without passing HB 5146 in order to meet the legislature's deadline for substantive bills.

"If our project is to move forward before the adjournment of the legislature on May 31, it will have to be done another way," said CEO and Founder of Walker's Bluff, Cynde Bunch. "History has shown that when we stay silent and indifferent, nothing will happen and our region will continue to decline, Next week, we will head to Springfield to plead for a solution. Thank you for your calls and continued support. We are not giving up."

The Resort at Walker's Bluff would include two hotels, a full-scale concert/convention center, an indoor water park, restaurants and a casino. Construction would require a workforce of 1,250 with 1,000 permanent positions at the resort. Statewide, the Gaming bill includes six licenses and would create a total of 5,500 constructions jobs and about 11,000 permanent jobs.

Community support and advocacy for The Resort at Walker's Bluff in Southern Illinois began in 2015 as hundreds of supporters, businesses and organizations joined project organizers for rallies, parades and even a demonstration in Springfield in hopes of bringing jobs and increasing peripheral business growth in the region.

Resolutions of Support for the project representing more than 75 communities throughout Southern Illinois were passed by dozens of villages and city councils, including one from the Southern Illinois Mayors Association and a countywide resolution in Williamson.

More information can be found at TheResortatWalkersBluff.com.