“The City of Baraboo agreed to support Sauk County’s opposition to the Ho-Chunk Nation taking land near their casino into tax-exempt status Monday evening, with the proviso that the interested parties should work on a mutually agreeable compromise. Controversy has been sparked among local government bodies after the Nation applied to the federal Bureau of Indian affairs to have 600 acres of land along Highway 12 and North Reedsburg Road given trust status. Schauf has estimated trust status for the properties would result in a loss of about $700,000 in taxes for the county, Baraboo School District, town of Delton and other governments.”

“These creditor leverage points, however, are often not available in the context of tribal-owned gaming entities, limiting the options for borrowers and lenders/creditors.”

“A federal court actually allowed an American Indian tribe to get out of a $50 million bond it owed to a private investor, raising concerns among other tribal-casino lenders. The 3,500-member Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, in northern Wisconsin, said $782,000 in monthly bond payments were bleeding it dry so last fall, it stopped making them, arguing that the deal was invalid.”