Ho-Chunk Nation Plans Casino in Indiana

LYNWOOD -- A report of looming financial problems for the Wisconsin-based Ho-Chunk Nation won't halt plans for a casino complex in town, the tribe's lawyer said.

"To my knowledge nothing in the report will reflect upon plans for the complex," William Boulware said.

Milwaukee accounting firm Virchow, Krause & Co. advised the Ho-Chunk in a 20-page report to make sweeping changes or face financial ruin, according to a story by the Associated Press.

The Nation announced plans a year ago to build a casino, retail center and entertainment and sports complex on 432 acres in Lynwood.

Since then the tribe has paid nearly $25 million for close to 300 acres of land for the project, Boulware said. The money came out of a fund set aside for land acquisitions and didn't deplete tribal coffers, Boulware said.

"It had no bearing on the report," he said.

The study, which the tribe requested, is based on data more than a year old, Boulware said.

The financial outlook is "markedly improved" since then, he said.

Cited in the report is a cash flow that went $104 million in the red last year from a $23.8 million-surplus just three years earlier.

The Ho-Chunk casino in Wisconsin Dells and other tribal facilities bring in about $100 million in profits a year.

But the tribe underestimated the cost of health care by about $13 million, according to the report.

Rising health care costs are a problem for the Ho-Chunk, just as they are for other employers, Boulware said.

"That has a really huge effect on your overall budget," he said.

Tribal President George Lewis said last week that financial changes are under way in light of the report's findings and recommendations.

A per-person payment to all band members was cut to about $2,300 per quarter from $3,250, according to the AP story.

Plans for the Lynwood casino complex are on course, Boulware said.

Studies of how the complex would impact the environment are underway, to comply with U.S. Department of Interior requirements for granting federal trust status to the land, he said.

Federal law permits Indian gaming on trust land or on reservations only.

Plans have been pushed back for applying to the Interior Department for trust status, Boulware said. He wouldn't say when that's expected to happen.

Earlier this week, tribal clan elders visited the site, bordered by Torrence and Stoney Island avenues and Glenwood-Dyer and Glenwood-Lansing roads, Boulware said.

The elders provide oral history of the tribe, Boulware said. "It's a huge benefit to have them participate and recall stories about the tribe."