Shabbona Trustee Marc Cinnamon said the village has a good working relationship with the tribe. The Shabbona village board has consistently supported the tribe and its plans, in anticipation of getting money to build infrastructure in the town that has fewer than 1,000 residents. Lauren Underwood and Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, both Democrats, introduced a measure in support of the proposal, which was originally introduced by Republican Kansas Sen. This spring, Illinois lawmakers approved resolutions in favor of the federal legislation with bipartisan support. One proposal has called for a heritage museum to display Potawatomi artifacts, and a lodge to house the estimated 500,000 annual visitors to the nearby state park. Prairie Band Casino & Resort is owned and operated by the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. He noted the gambling market in Illinois has become saturated, with video gambling statewide and a casino planned in nearby Rockford. Now, Rupnick, a descendant of Chief Shab-eh-nay, said tribe members aren’t sure what they might do with the land. By 2016, instead of a casino, the tribe proposed an electronic bingo hall and lodge.

In 2005, the Potawatomi bought about 130 acres of adjacent land and proposed building a casino and hotel.

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