[The following is an update to the "Rock Island Addresses Concerns Over Development Plan Near Casino" article published March 21, 2025. In the above photo by Jonathan Turner, Jeff Hughbanks (right), who heads Rock Island-based Rymak Construction Group, talks about his $12-million plan to build a new cannabis dispensary and gas station in southwest Rock Island, at the March 21 press conference at city hall. Mike Thoms (left) will end his two terms as mayor having been defeated by 150 votes in the April 1st city wide election by Ashley Harris who won 51 to 49 percent.]
Jon Duyvejonck has lived in Rock Island his whole life and worked personally and professionally to help protect the local environment.
The chairman of the 700-member Eagle View Group of the Sierra Club, he worked for the Army Corps of Engineers for 12 years, then 25 years for the Moline-based U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a biologist working on Mississippi River issues. He retired in 2015.
Duyvejonck is among many concerned citizens working to conserve 538 acres of natural habitat just across Illinois 92 from the Bally’s Quad Cities Casino and Hotel.
At its March 24 meeting, the Rock Island City Council approved expanding the area’s TIF district and creation of a concurrent Business Development District, to support construction of a controversial cannabis dispensary and truck stop on 10 acres. The development site is not considered wetlands, but the surrounding 528 acres are, and the council also okayed a conservation easement that would prohibit any development on that property.
The next step in the process is for the city to approve sale of the 10 acres to the development partnership A Hana, which consists of Jeff Hughbanks of Rymak Construction Group and Matt Stern of Stern Beverage.
There were similar concerns about protecting the roosting area for bald eagles before the 2008 opening of Bally’s Casino and Hotel (originally built as Jumer’s Casino Rock Island), with most of the concern about lighting.
“They did change the lighting,” Duyvejonck said recently. “It can scare them (eagles) out of there, particularly in the winter time when they’re trying to conserve energy. They don’t have a lot of fat reserves.”
The area is a popular spot for eagle roosts, as part of the 8,000-acre Andalusia Slough. “The most dense roosting area is across this open area, which used to be wooded.”
“They’re kind of isolated and that’s why it’s important to them,” Duyvejonck said. “There aren’t that many areas that offer that kind of seclusion.”
The area was formerly sand and gravel mines for the old Moline Consumers Company, which later became RiverStone.
The 538 acres were donated to the city by RiverStone Group in 2022, and the 10-acre parcel is ideal for commercial development, strategically located near the intersection of I-280 and Illinois 92, said city community development director Miles Brainard.
“Most importantly, the 10-acre site is at higher elevation than its surroundings,” Brainard said on March 21. “It is outside of the floodplain and is not itself a wetland. In contrast, the surrounding 528 acres does not have commercial development potential.”
The city council approved acquisition of the 538 acres in December 2022 and a first environmental site assessment was conducted. The city knew any development on that parcel had the potential to impact surrounding wetlands and additional studies would be needed later, Brainard said.
Additional studies the city has done say that the 10-acre site is “generally suitable for commercial development,” Brainard said. The city does not yet have final site plans from the developer.
“However, the city has every expectation that the developer will take care to maintain the trees and other vegetation around the parcel’s periphery to act as a buffer to noise and light,” he said.
The city has no plans to encroach on any of the surrounding wetlands, Brainard said. “The wetlands are a valuable natural resource that the city wants to protect. This proposed development will actually help make that possible.”
Duyvejonck supports the conservation easement, noting some people are adamant they don’t want any development in the 10 acres.
“Okay, maybe a Casey’s wouldn’t be so bad, but if you have semi trucks coming off the intersection 24 hours a day coming in and out here, that’s going to affect the eagles roosting,” he said. “One of our recommendations was to get rid of the semi trucks. If it was just the convenience store and dispensary, that would go a long ways toward mitigating impacts.”
The Sierra Club group was told that the developers need the truck stop and dispensary to make the project economically viable. “I’m not an economist, so I can’t argue with you on that,” Duyvejonck said. Having trees, a protective berm and down-facing lights also will help mitigate negative impacts, he noted.
New Task Force to Form
Mayor Mike Thoms is forming a new task force made up of conservationists, city representatives, residents and the developer to provide input on creation of the conservation easement and a wetland protection plan.
“The truck stop is not much of a truck stop,” Thoms said of the planned development, to include 20 gas pumps and 10 EV charging stations. “The city is in the process of selling the site to the developer and the developer has to meet all state and federal regulations. No federal funds are being used on this project.”
“We must strive to balance the city’s need for economic development with environmental conservation, which I believe can be hand in hand,” Thoms said. “The city is committed to economic development, while protecting our natural resources.”
Duyvejonck will serve on the task force, which will help guide the final site plan and development.
“We want to raise these concerns early enough, so the developer’s aware of it, and gives him a chance to alter his plans if he so chooses,” he said. There’s also a potential Native American burial ground in the area, which should be investigated by the state, Duyvejonck said.
“We think it’s premature to say everything’s okay to proceed,” he said of the development. The potential impacts to bald eagles must be evaluated through consultation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Eagle View Group said.
“The Milan Bottoms ecosystem offers an array of opportunities for low-impact recreation and education and must not be compromised,” the group said at a March 17 hearing on the project. “The City should initiate preparation of an overall management plan for the Milan Bottoms ecosystem.”
The Save Milan Bottoms Facebook page following the council vote said:
“This area is crucial for Blandings turtles, migratory cranes, and bald eagles, the latter of which uses it as one of the most significant winter roosting sites in the continental U.S. These and likely many other threatened, endangered, and protected species depend on this land for survival, and protecting it is essential for their future success rates.
“Yet while these wetlands stand as vital, living sanctuaries, the city envisions concrete and commerce. Every inch of development chips away at living poetry of what is and what could be, written in water and wild reeds.
“Each sighting of threatened and endangered species, especially in regions like Rock Island, offers rare and invaluable glimpses into the ongoing struggle for survival. We cannot afford to remain silent in the face of such a critical ecological battle. We must stand together to Save Milan Bottoms,” the group posted.
“If the city is serious about conserving these habitats, it must act now to ensure this critical area remains safe from development. It’s time to prioritize real, impactful conservation efforts that support our local wildlife.
“The City of Rock Island must include the additional 10 acres of high ground in its wetland conservation easement if it is genuinely committed to preserving these vital habitats.
“We know the TIF funds must be spent in this area within the next two years, and that there are guidelines on how these funds can be used (ie: not for new buildings, which is why the proposed Business Development District or BDD was created),” Save Milan Bottoms said. “However, we need to think outside the box – economically and ecologically – and allow money and nature to run together in confluence.
“We can make caring for the environment profitable, create meaningful careers, and contribute significantly to ecological research and restoration instead of this proposed project.”
Up to $6 Million Incentives
Hughbanks has said Nature’s Treatment of Illinois (NTI) has done so well in Milan, it wants to relocate in a larger facility in Rock Island, with the development planned to cost between $12 million and $15 million.
“We’ve outgrown the space we’re at now. This will allow us to incorporate a smoking lounge, a food service venue out back with an entertainment area,” he said March 21. “We really took a lot of time and effort to get to this point here, to really fit this development into the area.”
“We appreciate the city of Rock Island and everyone who’s been involved and we’re excited to come to Rock Island,” Hughbanks said.
He noted that NTI (973 Tech Drive, Milan) is the most successful in the state of Illinois – among 244 dispensaries total, all generating a total of more than $2 billion in 2024 sales.
“These businesses are known for their high sales tax revenue, which would do a lot to improve the financial health of the city,” Brainard said. The developer has asked Rock Island (at 3809 60th Avenue West, just west of Bally’s Casino) to build an access road, extend utilities and help offset their construction costs.
The adjacent tax-increment financing (TIF) district, used to help with the casino development, was identified as having funds that can be used to build the road and extend utilities.
TIF funds can’t be used for new construction so the city decided to establish a new business development district (BDD) in the same area. Unlike TIFs, which generate revenue from increased property taxes, the BDD produces revenue from increased sales taxes, Brainard said.
In late January 2025, the city approved a new development agreement for the casino west plan, and a consultant began work on expansion of the existing TIF district and creation of the new BDD.
No taxpayer money will be used for the city incentives, which are mainly based on sales taxes on site, Mayor Thoms said. The agreement includes selling the land to the developer for its appraised value of $270,000, and they may use existing TIF funds for the purchase.
The agreement requires the development to be built within three years, with up to $6 million in sales tax revenue rebated to the developer. The city will only reimburse funds that are eligible BDD and TIF expenses, and the city is not obligated to pay the full $6 million if the developer fails to submit eligible expenses for repayment, or if there is not $6 million in eligible expenses, according to the agreement.
Rock Island’s total economic incentive, including the development of off-site infrastructure, will not exceed $6 million nor more than 50 percent of the total project costs, whichever is less.
An online petition (with 2,996 signatures as of March 29) notes a group of citizens and local environmental organizations urge the City Council to consider the myriad impacts of this project and alter the proposed development. Specifically, they are seeking to move the truck stop away from this location and shrink the proposed TIF district so that it does not include wetlands or areas that are in the current floodplain as designated by FEMA.
Improvements may include walkways for bird viewing and a kayak launch. The developer plans to keep the tree line that borders the back portion of the property as a barrier between the facility and the wetlands/wooded area and construct a protective berm.
The Nature’s Treatment cannabis dispensary and gas station will incorporate eco-friendly landscaping.
The developer is committed to directing parking lot lighting and facility lighting downward and away from the wooded areas.
The council will direct the city manager, in consultation with a mayor-appointed task force, to create within 12 months a wetland management plan involving a robust stakeholder engagement process. The plan shall include a proposed governance framework establishing how the wetlands shall be managed and by whom. It shall also include recommendations for future investments that both preserve the natural environment and further the public interest.
The council also directed the city manager within six months to present a recommendation on the establishment of a conservation easement that would prohibit future commercial development in the wetland area.
Hughbanks said he’s planning for a project groundbreaking in April.
