A closed military base in Savanna, Illinois could become the home to a Tribal bingo hall, a possibility that has stirred up controversy in the region. The Native American Sac and Fox Nation are staking a claim on their ancestral land from which they were expelled.

The nation wants to turn the now-defunct base into a Native American reservation with a bingo hall. The Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA) is currently weighing a variety of options. A winery was promised to receive a part of the land, and the winery is working on an agreement with the Sac and Fox Nation to turn the area into a tourist attraction with a winery, a hotel, and a bingo hall.

Authorities have raised concerns that locals may be unwilling to have a bingo hall in the area because of anti-gambling sentiments. In addition, members of the LRA are concerned that a bingo hall wouldn’t produce the number of jobs or tax revenues that other options, such as a gas station or a gasoline-ethanol blending plant, would generate. The state and county would not be able to tax earnings from a tribal casino.

The LRA has currently requested records from other similar ventures to get an idea as to how many jobs and how much revenue the bingo hall would generate. Any final decision will take that data into consideration.