Harvey Mayor Christopher Clark canceled a Wind Creek Chicago Southland casino job fair in Harvey Thursday just as it was to begin, sending more than 286 hopeful job seekers home, according to casino and Park District officials.
The job fair at the Harvey Park District’s Gloria Taylor Center was to fill more than 1,000 positions at the casino, scheduled to open later this summer in East Hazel Crest.
Wind Creek Casino officials said in a news release Clark called the chief operating officer for Wind Creek Hospitality, Brent Pinkston, 17 minutes before the fair’s 10 a.m. start time to urge him to call off the event over concerns of a mass crowd forming.
“It was just a disappointment for the people,” said Kisha McCaskill, executive director of the Harvey Park District. “As of the time that it was shut down, we already had 286 people signed in.”
The casino, set to feature a 16-story, 252-room hotel with a restaurant on the top floor, plans to start hiring in August.
McCaskill described the cancellation as a blow to the Park District and unjust to more than 100 individuals who arrived early Thursday to apply for jobs.
“We started out with more than 100 people at 10 a.m. this morning,” McCaskill said in a live video on the district’s Facebook page. “These are people that took time off of their jobs, people that took time away from their children, these are people that are struggling.”
Harvey’s unemployment rate sits at 8.3% as of May 31, according to data from the Illinois Department of Employment Security. This number is significantly higher than most Illinois cities, the data shows.
McCaskill said she believes canceling the event was retaliatory after former Park Board President, Anthony McCaskill challenged Clark in the last mayoral race.
Clark could not immediately be reached Thursday for comment.
Wind Creek officials were also surprised and upset at the sudden cancellation, she said.
Kisha McCaskill, executive director of the Harvey Park District, informs people at the Wind Creek casino job fair July 11 that the event was canceled by Mayor Christopher Clark due to security concerns. (Harvey Park District)
“On behalf of Wind Creek casino, they were extremely disappointed,” McCaskill said. “They were caught off guard. They were blindsided with this particular situation. This was one of their largest job fairs that they’ve had since they’ve started their efforts to hire and so it was a great loss.”
McCaskill said the event was well advertised on social media and by the Harvey Police Department.
McCaskill and casino officials stayed at the center Thursday to inform residents of the cancellation and take down their names.
At 4 p.m., McCaskill said jobseekers were still walking through the door who had not received word of the cancellation.
Every person that signed in Thursday will receive a call from the casino, she said.
“It’s a wonderful thing, and it’s just unfortunate that our city administration did not see the value in this,” McCaskill said.
