That means they can start laying the groundwork for the casinos, which have been coveted by officials for decades. Regulators voted 4-0 to grant findings of “preliminary suitability” for the both the new suburban licenses. Calumet City and Lynwood were culled from the bidding process in October. Homewood/East Hazel Crest beat out Matteson with a proposal to build the casino just off Interstate 80 near 175th and Halsted streets. Pritzker in 2019 that paved the way for the new casinos pitted a handful of suburbs against each other to bid for what is expected to be a cash cow for south suburban communities that have been economically neglected for generations. The field was much wider for the south suburban casino license.