A group of local activists is encouraging concerned citizens to speak out at Monday night’s South Bend Common Council meeting regarding the proposed casino on the city’s southwest side.

The group Citizens for a Better Michiana is also calling on the Bureau of Indian Affairs to add more public hearings about the plan.

Over the course of nearly three years, residents of Michiana were kept in the dark about a process that will have a great impact on area lives, the group said in news release on Monday, April 13.

They say people are being given only a single chance to voice their opinions because the federal government recently went public with plans to allow a tribal casino in South Bend.

“This is even more important in light of the fact that the South Bend Common Council hastily announced plans to vote on a resolution in support of the tribal casino at their Monday meeting with practically no time for public input,” Jake Teshka, a spokesperson for the group, said.

The group is encouraging residents to attend both the South Bend Common Council meeting on Monday and the Bureau of Indian Affairs meeting on Tuesday.

IF YOU GO

South Bend Common Council

7 p.m. Monday, April 13

4th Floor, County-City Building

227 W. Jefferson Blvd.

South Bend

Bureau of Indian Affairs Environmental Impact Statement Hearing

6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 14

South Bend Century Center

120 S. St. Joseph St.

South Bend